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THE NEW AGRICULTURE: 



OR. 



THE WATERS LED CAPTIVE. 




BY 



/ 



J^. 1<T. OOLiE. 




ILLUSTRATED. 



1885. 

THE AMERICAN ANGLER. 

NEW YORK. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by 

WILLIAM C. HARRIS, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, ^.t Washington. 



- '4J 



1/ 



DEDICATION". 

This volume is respectfully dedicated to Dr. J. H. Vincent, of Plainfield, New Jersey. 

A. N. COLE. 
Home on the Hillside, N. Y., October 1st, 1885. 



PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT. 



In announcing the publication of this book the publishers would 
state that the claims of the author in behalf of his discoveries and 
methods seemed, when first presented to our attention, well nigh 
incredible. It was not until after a personal examination, at the 
"Home on the Hillside," of Mr. Cole's system of cultivation and an 
inspection of some of the wonderful resultant products, that we 
became thoroughly convinced that he has practically substantiated 
the claims set forth in this volume. 

He could not have selected a more unpromising piece of land for 
testing the merits of " The New Agriculture." It was a steep and 
sterile hillside of Allegany hardpan, thinly covered with a soil, 
which was surface-washed and gullied by heavy rains and sun-baked 
in dry weather. 

His system of culture based upon underground irrigation and 
fertilization maintained constantly and uniformly the year around 
by means of his own devising, after thirty years of investigation 
and study, has transferred this waste of ground, which nobody 
thought could be made profitably productive, into, comparatively 
speaking, a Garden of Eden. He simply makes " The New Agri- 
culture " a willing Handmaid to Nature. He gathers and conserves 
in his trenches or subterranean reservoirs all the waters from dews, 
rains and melting snows, which, after equable filtration through 
the soil, are released at the foot of the slope in a never-failing stream 
of pure water at spring temperature. It would seem that not more 
than one-fifth of this fertilizing moisture is absorbed by a maximum 
crop. Fungus, that deadly foe to root growth, is completely elim- 
inated. Drouth is forestalled and the ground in winter no more 



freezes than around a natural spring. The producing season in 
that latitude is elongated from forty to sixty days. 

As to the exjjense of the new tillage, the improvement of the land 
in productiveness and the economies of the system in all ways, largely 
dispensing with the cost of jDlowing, sjDading and weeding and the use 
of expensive manures, turn every dollar of outlay into five at least 
in a short sjjace of time. In a word, the roots of trees, shrubs 
and plants are constantly supplied, but never in surfeit, with the 
amount of moisture needed for their healthy and raj^id growth and 
for the perfect development of leaf, bud, flower and fruit. These 
magnificent results are not, with us, matters of conjecture, nor have 
they been accepted without personal and careful inspection at 
Father Cole's " Home on the Hillside." 

Wm. C. Harris. 

H. H. Thompson. 



CONTENTS 



The Life of A. N. Cole. By Hon. John H. Selkreg 11-11 

Chapter I. — The Discovery, Development and Publication of the New 

Agriculture to the World 15- 81 

Chapter II. — Circulation of Water on Land — The Wonderful Mesilla. . 82- 99 
Chapter III. — Description of The New System — "Home on the Hill- 
side " — The Hot Water System 100-110 

Chapter IV. — Practical Kesults of the New System 111-131 

Chaptbb Y, — The Influence of the New Agriculture upon the Health 
OF Man and Domestic Animals — Communication from the 
Hon. John Swinburne — Thk Bane of Fungus by Professor 

C. K. Earley 135-170 

Chapter VI. — Reclaiming the Great American Desert 171-178 

Chapter VII. — The Expense of the New System 179-18C 

ChapterVIII.— 1850— 1885. "The Home on the Hillside" Then and Now.. 189-206 
Chapter IX. — Manuring under the New System — The American Pomolog- 
ICAL Society — A Welcome for All at the "Home on the 
Hillside" 207-223 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

pobtbait of the author frontispiece. 

Basswood Cottage 23 

"The Home on the Hillside " 46 

The Old Apple Tree 63 

Single Plum, natubal size 76 

Qboup of Plums, natural size 85 

diagbams of the new system 103 

Thk Strawbkbrt Bouquet 125 

Stbawberky, natural size 139 

DiAGBAM OF Infected Stables and Outhouses 155 

Gboup of Peas 175 

Single Tomato Plant 181 

Teellis of Tomatoes 187 

Single Tomato, natural size 193 

Specimens of Apples, natural size, from Old Apple Tree 199 

Quince, natural size 209 



THE LIFE OF A. N. COLE. 



The life of the author of this book has beeu an eventful one and into it has been crowded 
far more than can be found in that of ordinary public men. Knowing this and deeming a 
brief biographical sketch of Mr. Cole would be of interest to the general reader, the following 
has been prepared from memorandums procured from him and from others who have held 
intimate acquaintance with him during his life. 

Asahel N. Cole was born on the 15th of October, 1821, in the town of Freedom, Cattaraugus 
County, N. Y., and is therefore 64 years of age at date of the appearance of this volume. His 
father, Daniel Cole, was a descendant from the family settling Cole's Hill, at Plymouth, Mass., 
and his mother, of maiden name Joanna Williams, was a lineal descendant of Roger Williams, 
of Rhode Island. 

Enjoying a very retentive memory and possessed of an exceedingly active mind, it is not to 
be wondered at that Mr. Cole has made his mark in political and other circles, and was con- 
nected with large enterprises, which commenced by him were before completion appropriated 
by others who enjoy the fruits of growth planted by his hand. 

When but four and a half years old the father and mother of the author died. Thus thrown 
upon his own resources, he early commenced the " battle of life," and even now when above 
three score he has all the energy of youth and the fire of mature manhood in his nature. 

He was adopted by foster parents residing at Pike, at that time part of Allegany, now Wyom- 
ing Coiinty, N. Y. Up to the age of sixteen, when his foster father died, he had received the 
barest elements of a common school education. Starting out he sought emiiloyment as best 
he might in canvassing the state of Ohio for an agricultural and horticultural publication en- 
titled the Buckeye PLOtrGHBOY, published at Cleveland. His early study of odd numbers of 
this little monthly and Poor Richard's Almanac beyond doubt had much to do with the impor- 
tant discoveries set forth in this volume. 

The year 1839 was spent in Michigan, our author having by this time gained, through his 
limited studies, sufficient knowledge to commence teaching school, which he continued 
to do until the year 1814, and then deciding to abandon his plans of becoming a minister of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, for which he had prepared himself, he turned merchant and 
lumberman, working hard in the woods for a livelihood. 

Divisions in the Methodist Church, growing out of the issues of slavery and anti-slavery, 
were the occasion of this new departure. Young Cole, interesting himself in politics, became 
an ardent Free Soiler, and, having patrons in the persons of Gerrit Smith and James S. Wads- 
worth, both large landowners in the timbered sections of Allegany County, his acquaintance 
and agreement with them politically brought, not only the gentlemen above named but many 
others, leaders of the free soil movement, to the side of a man from ten to twenty years 



12 LIFE OF A. N. COLE. 

younger than themselves. AMien the revolutionary period of 1848 was reached, and A. N. Cole 
was but twenty -seven years of age, he was better known by, and more closely linked with, 
Joshua K. Giddings, Gerrit Smith, James S. Wadsworth, William H. Seward, Charles Sumner, 
Salmon P. Chase, John P. Hale, John Van Bureu and others of like political affinities, than any 
man of his age in America. 

"What made him esi^eciallj- a most important factor in the politics of the period was his close 
attachment to and alliance with Horace Greeley, whose acquaintance he formed so early as 
1843. Mr. Cole became the trusted personal, private and confidential correspondent of this 
great journalist, and thus remained to the close of Mr. Greeley's life in 1872. 

In the meantime Mr. Cole had, so early as 1852, assisted by General James S. Wadsworth, es- 
tablished the Genesee Valley Fkee Press as a Republican paper at his home in Allegany 
County. In the columns of this, the pioneer Republican newspaper of the country, appeared 
the first call for a convention to organize the Republican party. This convention met at 
Friendshii5, N. Y., in May, 18.54, and dates the birth of the Republican party, though the town 
iif Angelica, N. Y., succeeded in 1884 in establishing her birthright by showing that the first con- 
vention called for nominating candidates convened at that jDlace about the middle of October, 
1854. The celebration of the birth of the party took place at Angelica just before last fall's 
(1884) election. A. N. Cole presided, having been for years acknowledged and recognized as the 
Father of the Republican Party. 

It is not however, in politics or public life where Mr. Cole has won his proudest laurels. 
He never held but one important i^ublic trust, that of readjuster or reassessor of income taxes 
in the Second district of Brooklyn for a period of about one year of the first term of President 
Grant, receiving his appointment from Secretary Boutwell. Mr. Cole held court in revenue 
cases with such energy, force and knowledge of the revenue laws as to gain his admittance to 
practice in all the courts of the state, receiving his diiiloma at a general term of court held at 
Poughkeepsie in May, 1868, Before this, however, he had been waited upon by the solid New 
York delegation of Republican Senators and Members of Congress from the State of New York 
for appointment to the office of Internal Revenue Supervisor for the Metropolitan District, but 
Pi-esident Johnson interposing objections the Hon. Silas B. Dutcher received the appointment. 

Vp to this period Mr. Cole had only been known as a journalist of wide influence, but he had 
also won laurels without number at Albany for his advocacy of measures for improvement of 
the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and as early as 1877 saw carried through the experiment 
in Greenwich Street testing the question of practicability of the elevated railroad system as 
now in operation in the metropolis. General John A. Dix and the Hon. S. L. M. Barlow, asso- 
ciated with others, employed Mr. Cole as advocate and attorney, breaking the powerful combi- 
nations of opposing interests to the system of rapid transit now existing. 

The energy and earnestness of Mr. Cole up to this period had produced a marked impression 
on the public, and he was recognized as the trusted and confidential friend of the highest officials 
iu national and state governments. He was selected to have charge of the bill reorganizing the 
Erie Railway, which when jierfected and passed saved that great work from wreck and ruiu. 

Governor Cornell in 1880 signed the bill granting to a company to be organized, the aban- 
doned Genesee Valley Canal for railroad purposes. This achievement came of seven 



LIFE or A. X. COLE. 13 

yearB of persistent labor on the part of Mr. Cole, saying to the population of the Gene- 
see Valley a magnificent property otherwise lost. The syndicate finally securing the grant, 
mortgaged it for two millions of dollars, while the solitary individual (A. N. Cole) who practi- 
cally did the work secured a merest fraction of the amount for labor and expense in sacuring 
the grant. Twice in his life the author of the New Agriculture, worked down and out, has 
succumbed for a few months at a time, and his work has seemed at an end, the tax upon his 
energies being such as to apparently break him down. 

About four years ago his neighbors were astonished by the growth of fruits and vegetables 
of marvelous size, beauty, profusion and perfection upon his grounds. He was understood at 
first as making experiments in under drainage, nor did his nearest neighbors and most inti- 
mate friends have an intelligent conception of the methods under which he was proceeding — 
those of subsurface, subterranean or underground irrigation, better known as " The New Agri- 
culture." 

And so it is that, to a man who never had to exceed three years of education at school, has 
been left the discovery of the fundamental laws governing the movements of the waters upon 
and beneath the soil, which the writer of this brief biography, the publishers of this volume 
and many others who have visited "The Home on the Hillside" unite in believing will effect 
a revolution in the present systems of agriculture. J. H. Sei-kbeo. 

IxHACA, N. Y., October 15, 1885. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF " THE NEW AGRICULTURE 

TO THE WORLD, 



That there is a divinity shaping the ends of mortals, the author 
of this volume deems a certainty. In no other way is it possible to 
account for the inevitable. Solomon had it right when he said : 
" There is a time for all things under the sun." The time would 
seem to have come when the waters may be so controlled, as to 
pass them through soils, rather than allow them, as hitherto, to find 
their way from summits to plains and valleys along their surfaces. 
What has been done by the individual in this respect, is to be done 
ere long by the multitude. The immensity of such an undertak- 
ing, is calculated to discourage, at first, the bravest and most hope- 
ful. The Chinese wall, the pyramids and other evidences, all along 
the track of time, indicate that great undertakings have only to be 
persevered in, and the end is ultimately reached. 

Were every farmer or land-holder having lands situated on hill- 
sides, slopes and inclines, to put but a single acre in condition to 



16 THE NEW AGKIOULTUKE. 

gather in, house, husband, handle and control the waters falling 
down during the year, such would be the scene of transformation, 
as to make an end of hesitation and doubt. Could a model acre be 
shown in each county of every state and territory of our Union, a 
decade would not pass before spades would everywhere be found 
to be trumps, and such would be the multiplication of means for 
holding and handling the waters, as to result within a single gen- 
eration, to an ajDproach to transformation of the earth's surface. 

Upon the author of this volume has devolved the work of making 
a beginning. As things look at this time of writing it seems prob- 
able, that by the tenth of July, 1885, two acres of a model five un- 
der treatment, will be in condition to show what can be done to 
control and use the waters for jmrposes of agriculture and horti- 
culture. Not under three years, however, will our model five acres 
be so perfected, as to make a complete demonstration of anything 
like the utmost possibilities. How it has all occurred that the au- 
thor has been the one to find out the way, and seeking and finding, 
to lead the van of this, one of the greatest of works yet devolved 
upon man, will be understood as the story is told of a lifetime 
spent in following the waters. I was eight years of age when I 
read in " Poor Richard's Almanac" that : 

" If the farmer or gardener would know the difference in fruit- 
age, between a tree left to turf about its roots, and one where the 
soil is loosened, let him try the experiment." 

In our garden were plum trees bearing, to a most gratifying de- 
gree. These were on rich soil, with wash from the barnyard. Bait 
for trout-fishing was here obtained ; the angle or earth-worm, in 
abundance. To loosen the soil about the roots of these trees, be- 
came correspondingly a pastime and profit. That the plums wovild 
grow larger, and their flavor be improved. Dr. Franklin had said, 
and of course he kncAV. Suffice it to say that the loosening seemed 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 17 

to call for a pushing away at the trunks, till their roots took only 
weak hold in the ground. It was, if we recollect, in the spring of 
1829, when we were scarcely nine years of age, that the trees thus 
treated, refused to put out bud or blossom, nor so much as gave 
evidence of life. From that hour, losing faith in Poor Kichard's 
Almanac, we followed thereafter our own inclination and methods. 
How many were the jilants taken up and put back into their own 
or new j)laces we cannot now say. To examine their roots, and find 
out their ways of germination, became a passion. Nothing so dis- 
turbed us as the wrong end ujd in which the beans came out of the 
ground. "WTiy again should the potatoes grow beneath the soil, 
and the balls upon the tops of the vines, was a i^uzzle to us. Peas 
the fourth of July, and cucumbers the middle of that month, with 
which to give keener relish for our trout, was an ever yearning am- 
bition. 

We think it was at about the age of twelve, when we came across 
a newspaper mention of an exjDeriment which we decided to forth witlii 
make. This was one with which nearly everybody has become 
familiar ; that of a tight barrel set on end, and filled with round 
stones so far ujd as the open bung, then shingled with flat stones, 
and these covered with straw and a coating of coarse manure, fin- 
ishing up by filling the barrel with rich earth, and planting on this 
a hill of cucumbers. The handiest barrel was accordingly seized 
upon, that used by our foster mother for pounding clothes. We 
began operations in earnest, but conflict ensued, since it was im- 
possible to convince our maternal guide that her pounding barrel 
was the spot in which to grow pickles. Threats of castigation did 
not deter us from persistence, and promising our mother another 
and better barrel within a few days, we went defiantly ahead with 
our "gardening." The maternal word was kept to the letter, but 



18 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

this was something of daily discipline, and so we did not seriously 
object to it, in view of the harvest in prospect. 

Our experiment was made with care, since we had found out thus 
early, that what was worth doing at all, was worth well doing. Our 
one hill of cucumbers did wonders, and yet came far short of a 
barrel of pickles. We estimated them at a half bushel, but now, 
having gotten over the ardor of youth, we are bound to admit that 
they would have filled only a peck measure, and possibly have come 
short of that by at least " one pickle." But the pounding barrel 
having been ruined, and the " rod in pickle" having been applied, 
and the crop falling far short of our expectations, we resolved not 
to give it up so, but repeated our exj^eriment the ensuing yeai', 
well convinced that we could demonstrate the fact that a pounding 
barrel was a good place in which to grow pickles ; and the second 
time we succeeded in an eminent degree, since the one hill, in the 
barrel, j)roduced nearly or quite a half bushel, and doing the i^ick- 
ing ourselves, and the barrel being in close proximity to a fine 
patch in the garden, we convinced our foster mother that her boj' 
was a prodigy in growing cucumbers ; nor told a lie any more than 
would George Washington probably have done under similar cir- 
cumstances, but left our mother to tell the story of her boy having 
grown a full half barrel of pickles from one hill, planted in her 
pounding barrel. 

In the season of 1840, finding ourself in Michigan, we made care- 
ful note of the good effects uj^on grasses and grains in proximity 
to the primeval forests, more especially in fields lying below the 
level of the wilderness in which the maple, beech, basswood and 
other like timbers prevailed ; nor did the corresponding dearth in 
fields on and about the prairies and oak-openings, escape observa- 
tion. Again, in tracing what we presumed were tracks of hidden 
waters beneath the surface operating as we conjectured as inlets 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 19 

and outlets, connecting multitudinous lakes, ponds, swamps and 
morasses, covered in many instances with turf trembling upon their 
surfaces, we remarked the deep green of the verdure, when con- 
trasted with that of grasses and grains on more elevated planes, 
and along undulations. 

From Lower California, far away on the Pacific coast, rumors 
came of a valley of green amid the sands of the desert, j)ei"ennial 
in products of the olive and vine, where buried were the waters of a 
river in subterranean flow, and where the roots of trees and plants, 
deep dipping down, found nourishment at a depth of from twenty 
to thirty feet. In reading of the Sahara and other deserts of earth, 
the oasis was our only solace, and how to grow an oasis, became a 
study of intensest interest. The artesian well we longed to look 
upon, nor could we be satisfied till our eyes had seen it. 

Returning to our native state of New York in the autumn of that 
year, the green of the grasses of Allegany and Wyoming Counties, 
as seen amid the sere and yellow leaf, begat dreams of a land 
somewhere hidden from view, in which no deserts are found, and 
where grasses greenly growing, alongside of flowers unfading, and 
fruits that perish not as apjoles of the Dead Sea, turning to ashes 
in the hands of men, but growing ever on amid immortelles of the 
great hereafter, made the gloomy winter of 1839 and '40, to appear 
the less dark and dreary, on account of our dreamings. 

The next Spring, Summer and Autumn were spent in looking 
over, from time to time, that delightful section of Western New 
York, embraced in the valleys of the Genesee River and its num- 
berless tributaries, noting, more especially, those outgushing 
fountains of living waters, appearing as sjDrings, chiefest among 
■which are those at Caledonia, Avon and Wethersfield. The Oatka, 
Honeoye, Tonawanda, Canaseraga, Cohocton, Canisteo and other 
creeks and rivers, come largely from springs bubbling out all along 



20 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

their channel ways. Tracing these waters to their sources, and 
dwelling upon the methods employed hy the Creator in begetting 
springs, rivers, rivulets and lakes, we learned lessons of incalcul- 
able value. On return therefore from Michigan to Wyoming 
County, New York, we drifted as naturally back to the Cattaraugus 
of our birth, and Allegany of our breeding, as follows the trout 
in ascent to the sources of streams amid the forests and among the 
mountains. 

From early childhood, we had had liquid manures on the brain. 
So early as 1844, we undertook to grow a few cabbages to impress- 
ive proportions, for the sole purjDose of convincing the champion 
cabbage grower of our acquaintance that there were things in 
heaven and earth not so much as dreamed of in his conceited phil- 
osphy. AYe had barely set out in life, and occupying a rented 
house, had the narrowest limits for garden making. A few rows of 
2)otatoes, a bed of beets, another of onions, lettuce, etc., to which 
was added a few cabbage plants, made iip the sum of our venture. 
Near by dwelt the boss farmer and gardener of the neighborhood. 
Squire C. Our ground was rich, and we could not understand 
why the Squire had fine cabbage, while ours had scarcely begun 
heading. 

" What do you do, Squire," we asked, " to make your cabbage 
grow so raj)idly ?" 

With a mischievous twinkle of the eye, our venerable neighbor 
answered : 

" That's a secret worth knowing, and if you will not tell anybody, 
and try it yourself, I'll let you know how it's done." 

We promised, of course ; when coming up closely, the old gentle- 
man whispered in our ear : 

"I always hoe my cabbage before sunrise." 

Forthwith we resolved to get even with him. Our plants were fine 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 21 

ones, thrifty growing, and we had somewhere heard that weak brine 
turned upon the soil Avas a good thing for cabbage, and having 
heard also that hen manure was best of all fertilizers, our mind 
was made up instanter, to show our neighbor the Squire, what 
could be done in growing cabbages in absence of early rising. Pro- 
viding ourself therefore with a solution of salt, hen manure, and add- 
ing ashes and lime as ingredients, we set about rebuking our neigh- 
bor for even hinting that we were the identical individual pointed 
out in Proverbs, 6th chapter, 6th verse, etc. 

Rising early each morning for a week, we " doctored" our cab- 
bages, in confident belief that, in the course of a month or six 
weeks, we would be able to show neighbor Couch what a boy 
knew about growing cabbage. It took just six days to kill every 
plant as dead as so many Egyptian mummies. From that hour, 
though sticking to theories of liquid manuring, we gave up that sort 
of " doctoring" Avhich applies it in allopathic doses. 

On page 65 of Mr. Stewart's book on irrigation for the farm, 
garden and orchard may be found the following : 

" In applying liquid manure it is always necessary to use it in a 
highly diluted state, even so much diluted that if it would run off 
perfectly clear it might be found of sufiicient strength for all pur- 
poses. The danger lies in using it of too great strength, rather 
than in diluting it too copiously." 

"NYe did not mention to our venerable Mentor, the Squire, the re- 
sults arising from our use of liquid manuring, but we ceaselessly 
sought the rule to follow in compounding them and what propor- 
tions of j)otassium, ammonia, lime, sodium, magnesia and other ele- 
ments of liquids and solids are required, for this and that crop, in 
order to obtain the best results. 

Not far from five years subsequent to our experiment in growing 
cabbage, we found ourself occupying a home on the banks of the 



22 THE NEW AGKICDLTURE. 

Genesee. In our f arin barn yard manures had lain for years in huge 
piles, from the bases of which ran off streams of liquid, dark as lye, 
distributing and diffusing their influence over three or four acres 
of alluvial lying betw^een the barn and the river. In the track of 
this current of insjoiration to plant growth, stood a pine stump 
with a breadth of top telling the story of one of those departed 
giants of the forest, occasionally found in the wilderness of this 
region at the commencement of the present century. That some 
jDioneer had attempted, years before, to grub out this stump, and 
after making a good beginning, abandoned the undertaking, was 
evidenced by the fact that on its upjjer side toward the barn, was 
an excavation telling the tale of the undertaker. Into this hole 
the liquids from the barn had been discharging for years, and 
sinking below the surface their subterranean track was jDlainly 
marked by a wealth of verdure the equal to which we had never 
before seen. Immediately below the stump grew a most wonder- 
ful blackberry bush, the canes at base averaging an inch in diam- 
eter, and growing to a length of from twelve to fifteen feet. From 
this one bush, our family j^icked nearly a bushel of native black- 
berries, rivaling in beauty, and greatly superior in flavor to any 
we had ever tasted. 

Here was evidence conclusive that to Mother Earth may at all 
times safely be left the work of elaboration, combination, com- 
l^ounding, mixing and mingling of ingredients necessary to the 
germination, growth and develojDment of plants. 

In Beers' Illustrated history of Allegany County, page 362, may 
be found a picture of Basswood cottage, the home in the wilderness 
where we made in reality, our first garden ; hence, what would 
perhaps otherwise seem inappropiate, becomes fit and opportune, 
and we make a quotation from the history, as folloAvs : 

"Basswood Cottage, the home to wiaich Mr. Cole and family had 




^ 




jgl^^^i 



THK ^■E^V AGKICULTURE. 23 

retreated, represented in a-cconipauviuy eiig-raviiig, was a log cabin 
in the piue Avoods, and is thiis j^ictnred hy the grajDhic pen of the 
since -widely known journalist, in one of his easy chair letters, 
appearing in the Elmira Advertiser, under date of February 24th, 
1S75." 

••The spot chosen for our dwelling place was as wild, sylvan and 
rustic as any to be found amid the forests primeval of Allegany Co., 
X. Y. Our house was one built of logs, ixnhewn, but not rudely so, or 
without architectural j^reteittions in an humble way — a neat cottage 
with wings, portico in front, over which ran climbing roses, while 
ivies twined, and morning glories in sinuous wanderings and wind- 
ings found their way to the roof of the cottage. FloAvers bloomed 
in the dooryard, planted, cared for and watered by the ever busy 
hand of 'Mrs. Easy Chair.' In the rear of the liouse was a lofty 
hill quite like to a mountain, from the base to the brow of which 
rose up tall jiines, oaks, mai:)les, beeches, liirches and basswoods, 
whose shadt)ws fell upon us daily, as the sun went down before its 
time in the west. In the front and to the north was a carpet of 
greensward, partially shaded by beautiful trees, jilanted by nature's 
jjlastic hand, and scattered here and there were maples of second 
growth Avith spreading branches. On the left was a garden, where 
was early cultivated that taste for horticulture since grown to be a 
passion.'" 

Yes, dear reader, it was here, amid the shadows of the forest, we 
made our first garden. The spot was a jjocket of alluvial, rich, 
deep and dark, less than an half acre, created by drift from the 
mountain side above, pure vegetable mold ; no sj^ot could have 
well been richer in soil, or more naturally productive. Here were 
groAvn such potatoes, peas, beans, cabbages, turnips and other 
garden vegetables, as we have never seen until the adoption of our 
present system of culture. 



24 THE NEW AGRICULTUKE. 

Few stone were found in the soil. Here and. there, however, 
buried and out of sight, was found an occasional pine or hemlock 
knot, resisting- for generations the tooth of time. Here we found the 
first clump-foot cabbage, and forthwith, suspecting' something- was 
not quite right, we dug down, and brought out a huge jiine knot. 
Here, again, we began exjieriments with Hove^^'s seedling, succeed- 
ing after a year or two of patient endeavor, in gathering from a 
bed of thirty hills nearly a pint of strawberries, the largest speci- 
men of which measured three inches in circumference. So great was 
our triumph that one of our friends traveled on foot six miles to see 
that l)ig berry. Were our friend noAvnear by, instead of far away 
we would, w^ere he to visit us next July, 1885, show him bushels of 
berries, averaging as large as the one, which at that time, was the 
greatest of wonders. "Wlien it comes to specimens of our best, 
viz : Jersey Queens, Jumbos, Manchesters, Monarchs, &c., we 
could exhibit them by scores and hundreds, measuring from five 
to seven inches in circumference. 

But the reason of the barrenness of most of our strawberry jjlants 
in our first garden piizzled and vexed us to find out, as it probably 
did every other producer in our county. While onions grew to 
larger size than we had seen anywhere, and cabbages, beets and 
turnips astonished us Avith their prodigious growth, only about one 
out of three of our strawberry plants showed berries. The vines 
appeared sickly, and the roots of the plants did not seem to get 
firm hold in the earth, and we took to j^ulling them up, and digging 
down, seeking the cause of infecundity and unthrift. With scarce 
an exception, we found at the depth of from twelve to fifteen inches 
the inevitable jnne or hemlock knot, and still more frequently, a 
flat stone. We found the rot)ts of ovir jalants, reaching deeply down, 
had come in contact with Imried obstructions, and that disease had 
foll(5wed. flaking i;se of the S2)ectacles of r.n aged person serving 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 25 

admirably as a microscope, and securing a focus best calculated to 
bring out the hidden enemy, it did not take long for us to become 
satisfied that the seed of fungus was nearly everywhere j)resent, the 
great begetter of disease. Of this seed of fungus we had read much in 
books, found in the library of a physician, in whose family we spent 
much time in early life. 

Suffice it to say that we were thirty years old before we became 
convinced of the baleful influence of this arch enemy of plant 
growth. We found it amid damps and moulds, and equally amid 
soils in which was a lack of moisture. Wherever the roots of 
plants came in contact with sticks covered with mould, or with 
stones hidden in the soil, more especially with the inevitable flat 
stone completely destructive of plant thrift, we found fungus, bring- 
ing decay and death. Nor was this all, for hovering about the roots 
of plants diseased fi'om infection by fungus, were found parasites in 
form of the wire-worm, earth-worm and more especially the minute 
white grub or maggot, the latter fatally destructive, eating away 
the roots of plants, and bringing not merely disease, but certain 
death. 

In a few instances, so deep down did we dip to find the offender, 
as to reach the subsoil, evenly and smoothly descending to the 
stream flowing alongside our little delta, so rich in surface as 
to enable us to grow more on our single half acre than was gather- 
ed from two to three times the area devoted to gardening by neigh- 
boring farmers. 

During our first year's experience', there came sudden showers of 
such force and volume, as to bring from off the mountain side above, 
an amount of soil and debris from the recesses of the forest as to 
convince us that a ditch, sunk at the base of the hill and connect- 
ing with the stream traversing the valley, would be just the thing 
to provide against accidents. Plowing our garden late in autumn, 



26 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

we took the precaution to direct the ijlowman to leave a deep fur- 
row as near the base of the hill as convenient. This was done, and 
here was found Avhat had seemingly been a channel for waters, or> 
from conformation of the ground, more probably such a i-ecepta- 
cle as to send them in even flow along" the subsoil to the stream, 
leaving the mold in their track, and begetting our little j^ocket 
of a garden. Api^lying the pick and spade, our ditch was com- 
i:)leted, but as this in its curve described a crescent, with point ter- 
minating in the bed of the creek np the stream, discharge of the 
waters into the creek only took place when the ' dish ' overflowed. 
To i:)revent our trench from filling with soil therefore, recourse was 
had to filling it with stone, a quantity of which had been thrown 
out by the plow, and so a burial spot was made for stone and knots, 
old boots, shoes and other castaAvays of the household, in jiromis- 
cuous minglings. Over these was cast the pure vegetable mold, 
and thus, in descending the hillside, the waters dropj^ed into the 
trench, and thence flowed along the dip of the subsoil, until in sub- 
terranean movement they reached the stream. In the sinking of our 
ditch, not so much as a dream had we, that demonstration was be- 
ing made of a method which was to ultimate in so modifying ante- 
cedent systems of farming and gardening, as to amount to what 
now looks like revolution. And yet so it proved in more ways than 
one, since it was this crudely conceived and carelessh^ sunken 
trench, with its surface of sj)onge, that told a story to be yet heard 
all over the world. 

Not least of good fortunes was the one of emergence, at base of 
our mountain side, of considerable numbers of minute springs, 
even in the driest of weather, whose waters in spring, autumn and 
winter, warmly descending from what may be fitly denominated 
" ovir great dipper " on the mountain side above, supplied the 
household with excellent water. Finding the waters lost in the 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 27 

depths of our ditch, "\ve ascended the slope and arrested them by 
making a second ditch, thus aggregating the waters at the rear of 
the house, and, the winter proving an open one, we secured a foun- 
tain of pure water during its continuance. The snows in the woods 
began melting in February, and their waters descending the hill, 
striking the surface of our trench, disappeared, only to emerge in 
the stream beyond, and all along through the spring ensuing 
seemed to render more crystal-clear the waters of the creek The 
effect upon the soil of our garden seemed miraculous ; for such was 
its condition as to enable us to plant potatoes the last days of Feb- 
ruary, doing so in hopes of being able to mature them in season to 
avoid the rot, at that time threatening extinction of this most valu- 
able among root crops. 

Not until within the last ten years have we been enabled to see 
that it was the waters of rains, dews and spring melting snows, 
descending from among the damj^s and moulds, mosses, ferns, 
flags, wild grasses, mucks and minglings of a swamp in the depres- 
sion of that mountain side above, moving out from under the snows 
at spring water temj^erature and dropping into our trench and 
continuing to flow along the incline of the subsoil — not for ten 
years did we discover that these Avaters removed the frost from our 
garden, preparing it for germination of seeds two or three weeks 
earlier than otherwise. 

We see it all now, having found out there was the best of reasons 
existing why we, that season, grew as fine potatoes as we had ever 
seen, the frost having been kept out of the ground during March 
when the Frost King coming in fiercest fury, laid his hand on 
the lands of our neighbors, freezing them to a considerable depth, 
fully three weeks after we had committed our seed to the ground, 
and making an end of crops on every other spot, within, perhaps, 
an hundred miles in any dii-ection from our home. Nor was it 



28 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

alone the condition of the soil as regarded temperature, but so 
even and uniform Avas the flow of the waters, and so perfectly were 
food and drink supplied to the tubers, food always in abundance 
and never in surfeit, that the effects of fungus, about that period de- 
veloping infection of soils on both sides of the Atlantic, and that 
very season reducing the potato crop to a point threatening extinc- 
tion, did not touch our little patch of about a quarter of an acre, 
and we harvested fully thirty bushels of potatoes in beauty of per- 
fection. This was so much a matter of surj^rise to our neighbors, 
that the ensuing spring they took to early j^lanting as a remedy 
for the blight; but nobody seemed to realize benefits from so doing, 
since the season succeeding proved equally one of blight and 
destruction, so far as the potato was concerned. 

That season, the last sjDent in Basswood Cottage, was the one at 
date of which practically began the work of our discoveries. 

Though meeting Horace Greeley from time to time, from 1843 
to 1861, counseling with and confiding in him as in none other among 
public men of our country, it was not until the latter year that our 
relations became those of intimate companionshij). Though hon- 
oring and esteeming Salmon P. Chase, Charles Sumner, William H. 
Seward, Joshua E. Giddings, Gerrit Smith, James S. Wadsworth, 
Abraham Lincoln and hundreds of others we might name, advising 
with and confiding in them, Mr. Greeley was the only one we had 
never found at fault on questions affecting the health and wealth 
of earth's j^eoples. This deep thinking and profound moral and 
political philosoj)hei', a second Doctor Franklin, has had no equal 
in our judgement among the public men of our country. 

John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder, had but little more than made 
search for those j^asses over and through which, first the weary 
wagon train, and since then long successions of steam cars have 
coursed their iron way, linking ocean with ocean, when Horace 



THK NEW A(iKICrLXUr.];. 29 

Greeley by stage, on horseback and on foot, made his overland 
journey to California. At the time of setting out the editor of the 
Tribune had abetter knowledge of the comj)osition of soils and their 
adaptation to the growth of this and that crop, than perhaps any 
man of his day and generation. Profoundly believing the way 
would be ultimately found to make the desert to blossom as the rose, 
Mr. Greeley, before starting on his journey, during a most interest- 
ing conversation on the subject of reclaiming desert lands, said to 
us that he would not think of going were it not for an irrepressible 
desire to see and determine for himself whether there existed, in 
fact, an American desert. On his return, meeting our friend and 
Mentor at Hornellsville by appointment, he said : 

" I want to see and talk with j'ou. Cole, and tell you all about 
what I have seen. Let me say to you now that Clark, Lewis and 
Fremont were greater discoverers than Christopher Columbus. Col- 
umbus found a new world, albeit his discovery was made at a time 
when navigators of a half dozen nations were finding their way in- 
to distant and unexplored seas and oceans, and he only followed in 
the track of predecessors, though more adventurous as he was braver 
and more intelligent and intuitive, than others of his day and genera- 
tion. But, my dear fellow, this new world that Columbus discover- 
ed is about being rediscovered; and these Horatios all about us, 
are to find out there are millions of things in heaven and earth they 
have never dreamed of in their philosophies. The South is a great 
country, cursed with madmen, fancying themselves statesmen and 
sages, men who cannot be convinced that the fetters forged for 
their slaves, and the chains about the bodies of their bondsmen are 
not those of iron, but of fiax and toe, which, at the touch of fire are 
bound first or last to turn to ashes all, and the places knowing now 
the oppressed and oppressor to know them no more forever. 

" I have made a long journey, and seen more, and learned more 



30 THE NEW A<tRICUETURE. 

than in all my life before. Ours is the greatest country, and this 
is the greatest people on the face of the earth. England, France, 
German}" and all the other nations of Europe are as old men, their 
energies exhausted, their resources largely "wasted, and their possi- 
bilities thoroughly tested. There is more of gold and silver and 
of precious stones in our great American desert, than in all of the 
countries of the Old "World, and among the hills, along the plains, 
and in the valleys of the Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada and 
Coast Ranges, and along the Pacific slope, are found greater possi- 
bilities as regards jiopulation and production than in all of the 
older sections of our own country, or, in fact, any other jiortion of 
our globe. I want to tell you aboiit those big trees, and all of the 
other big and little things I have seen since I have been gone. I 
will only say now that Sumner had it right. AVe ought to buy the 
slaves of their masters and j^ay for them, if to do this, as Sum- 
ner says, it becomes necessary to build a bridge of gold over which 
these bondsmen may cross in reaching a land of liberty. We can 
afford to build it. There is money enough in the mines of Cali- 
fornia now being dug out to liuy the whole South, lands, cotton, 
corn, slaves and slaveholders, and colonize them all in Africa to- 
gether, or somewhere else, if need be. But colonization is a fraud, 
a delusion and a snare. There is work enough, and will be found 
wages enough, for all sorts of workers inside the boundaries of 
what has been denominated the great American desert, to employ 
an hundred millions of white and black men alike. It's all a lie, 
.that because j^eo^jle are black they will not work. "Who built the 
l^yramids ? "Who the Chinese wall ? "Who was Hannibal ? 

" The Egyptians were no more a white i)eoj)le four thousand years 
ago than now. I tell you the Carthagenians had no more physical 
and intellectual power three thousand years ago than have the 
Nubians and Abyssinians of to-day. This Avhole thing of black and 



THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 31 

wliite, and all this nonsense about Avliite men taking more to work 
than black ones, is only an excuse for enslavement. Let me tell you 
that white people do very little work south. John M. Botts under- 
stands it, as also does Cassius M. Clay. Everybody who knows 
enough to keep out of the fire. North and South alike, under- 
stands it, but people are not generally honest enough to confess 

it. 

" I have been out among all sorts of folks who work, and if I 

except the Indians, people of any and all nations will work, only 

give them freedom, free soil, and an opportunity to secure free 

homes. Possibly the Indians will work also, should any be left at 

the close of the j^resent century, which I very much dovibt, since 

whiskey and the vices of mean white men are rapidly making an 

end of our aboriginal tribes, and I think sometimes that the 

sooner the thing is done and the last Indian's grave is dug the better. 

I believe in God and his providence ; you know I do. Cole, but 

what is jDrovidence so far as Indians go, God only knows. Come 

down to the city and see me, dear Cole, and give me a chance to tell 

you about my over land journey." 

Such was the tenor of what Mr. Greeley said at Hornellsville. 
A month later found us in New York for three or four days, a con- 
siderable portion of the time being spent in the comj)any of Ameri- 
ca's greatest journalist. How to reclaim the desert by irrigation, 
was the burden of Mr. Greeley's every discourse. Artesian wells, 
windmills, current-wheels and other methods of lifting the waters 
from levels below to inclines and planes above, was a subject he 
continually dwelt upon. Mr. Stewart, in his admirable book on 
page 23 says : 

" The late Horace Greeley, who, although an enthusiast on the 
subject of irrigation, was nearly correct in his estimate, when he 
concluded that one artesian well would serve to irrigate no more 



32 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

than a quarter section of land, or one liundrecT and sixty acres." 

"WTien discoursing- on artesian wells, we asked Mr. Greeley if lie 
felt confident that water would be reached in a majority of in- 
stances, if the experiment of sinking such wells was made in the arid 
portions of our country. His answer, given in the affirmative, was 
couiDled with hesitation, and he concluded by saying, that while he 
was quite confident, he was so doubtful at times about it, as to exj^eri- 
ence a feeling of despondency, since the resources of the richest 
portion of our country could only be developed by ample water 
supplies. 

With his usual clearness of vision, he made frequent mention of 
a faith within him, that the time would come when those seas 
and oceans of water, descending in rivers of ceaseless flow from the 
melting of snows and ices ujion the summits of great ranges, would 
in some way be arrested, held back and made use of for jDuriDoses 
of irrigation. Solar evaporation, as he impressively declared, was 
the great obstacle to success in this direction. 

" Dam up these waters as you may," he said, " and hold them 
back as you will, or move them forward, that tongue of fire Avhich 
comes from a sky completely cloudless from April to November, 
with the mercury ranging from eighty to one hundred and fifty 
degrees between sunrise and sunset of each day, leaves little hope 
for such a system of water preserve and supj)ly as will gather them 
in for mechanical, manufacturing and mining jDurposes, to say 
nothing of domestic uses or those of irrigation." 

In one of these conversations, Mr. Greeley made mention of the 
reported existence in Southern California, if our memory serves 
us well, in the neighborhood of Los Angeles, where, in the midst 
of a desert, was seen an oasis so remarkable as to occasion surprise. 
This was a valley, as described to him, of j^erpetual green, along 
vhich for several miles was found growing at all seasons of the 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 33 

year, such fruits, flowers and profuse vegetation as scarcely 
anywhere else seen on the face of the earth. DijDping down, at the 
depth of twenty-two feet, there was found a sunken river three or 
four feet deep, and a mile or two broad. This concealed river, one 
of crj^stal waters, was what begat the oasis. To see for himself, Mr. 
Greeley assured us, so became a passion, and that there were days to- 
gether, when he felt he could not return home without looking 
in upon this wonderful valley. He returned, bringing with him 
the evidence of those he deemed credible witnesses and having in his 
mind no doubt about its existence, and furthermore that all along 
this wonderful subterranean river the roots of trees, and even of 
the wild clover and other productions of Southern California, reach- 
ed the waters in their dipj)ings down. 

These conversations with our most trusted counsellor and friend, 
had great influence, and the subject of subsurface, subterranean 
or underground flow of the waters as a means of irrigation, became 
more and more a constant study. That a deep covering of earth 
would shield the waters from solar evaporation was evident. The 
law of gravity inclining the waters to sink into the earth, and 
another law, that of capillary attraction, quite as mysterious, magi- 
cal, powerful and all-pervading, became at once a source of con- 
stant study and observation. 

While according to Mr. Greeley the credit and honor of being a 
continual prompter, intensifying our lines of thought, not to him^ 
however, or to any other one man, but to individuals, here and 
there met with, in a majority of instances, comparatively speaking, 
unlearned, or rather, unlettered men, we gained most of knowl- 
edge. It was during our residence in Brooklyn that from an ex-slave 
black as Othello, at blackest painted, we learned how lands were 
reclaimed in the neighborhood of the Dismal Swamp. From the 
Hollander we found out how dykes were constructed, and from an 



34 THE NEW AGRICULTUEE. 

unlettered son of the Emerald Isle we learned how fuel was secured 
in the bogs of his native Ireland. It was from the Germans, how- 
ever, that we obtained most valuable information. Intelligent, as 
a rule, patient workers, staid, steady, sober thinkers, slow-going, 
and yet sure, we found them always good authority on matters of 
soil and production, irrigation and drainage. 

Reading the Tribune daily, we never omitted to note what our 
friend Greeley and his former editorial associates had to say about 
farming and gardening. Forming the acquaintance and becoming 
warmly attached to Col. D. D. T. Moore, of the old Rural New 
Yorker, and getting acquainted with Mr. Andrew S. Fuller, a com- 
panionable and remarkably well-informed gentleman connected 
with the Tribune, we asked them and nearly everybody else with 
whom we conversed, what each thought about the waste of the 
waters coming of ordinary methods of tiling and drainage with 
stone drains. 

Though not saying a word about it to anyone, we could not help 
feeling provoked at seeing mankind indulging in what seemed to 
us a wicked folly, amounting to madness, as they made haste to get 
the waters out into seas and oceans, instead of using them while on 
the lands, and only conducting portions of the surplus down to the 
sea levels. 

From 1866 to 1870 we were formulating j)lans and devising 
methods of di-ainage, which should at once irrigate lands and j)i-o- 
vide against stagnation of the waters, and coming across the stray 
writings of Major Hugh T. Brooks, of Wyoming County, N. Y., he 
seemed to us the man who had found out things which all of the 
Avorld ought to know by intuition. But having heard people say 
that " what Horace Greeley and Hugh T. Brooks didn't know about 
farming " would fill a much larger book than what a regiment of 
that sort of farmers did know, we felt doubtful as regarded our 



THE KEW AGRICULTURE. 35 

own views, not being anr sort of a farinei' at all, and concluded 
that wliat Major Brooks and ourself liad found out about drainage 
would do to keep. We bided our time, for it occurred to us that it 
might do those of our neighbors good, who had been jioking sticks 
and making game of our " mining for myths," should they care to 
learn how to do it, rather than hold on to their ways of how not to 
do it; that to secure a j)atent and insist on their 2:)aying moderately 
for right of "• mining " would increase their gxaces, and so we kept 
our own counsel. 

The old year of 1884 Avas waning, and the new one 1885 about 
being ushered in, when we came across the following from the pen 
of Col. Curtis : 

" Farmers in 1882 expended $5,500,000 for tile and dug nearly 
53,000 miles of drains to put them in. Besides, thousands of miles 
Avere laid with stones. Tile-makers and theorists have created and 
fostered this craze, and if continued it will result in a jjeri^etiial 
water famine. AVholesale rules adopted without discrimination are 
a big curse in agriculture, and drainage is one of the most jiotent 
for mischief. It is true that in many cases drainage improves land 
and makes it more tillable, but not always more fertile. Often- 
times a wet lot, or a wet patch, will, on account of the wetness j^ro- 
duce more grass than any other portion of the farm, and In' being 
let alone supplies some spring which is invaluable. The drain 
fever seizing the OAvner, the Avater is speedily carried off, the early 
and constant pasture spoiled, and the spring fed from it destroyed. 
Does this outlay pay ? The same thoughtless improvement sends 
the melting snows and the spring rains, without hindrance into the 
farm rivulet, Avhere they quickly Hoav beyond reach to the distant river 
The stores of water being gone early in the summer the riA'ulet 
dries, and the stream into Avhich it flows gets Avonderfully small, 
and the mill stops, and on the riA^er the boats ofround. 



3G THE NEW AGRICULTUEE. 

" Ditches and drains are made to carry the water away and they 
do it. Ditches are the outlets, and the water mil always flow away 
in them. To keej) up a supply of moisture or of water there must 
be a holding- back of the water. This is done in many ways, when 
the avenues of nature are undisturbed. On the surface it is kept 
in hollows or basins, where swamps and bog-holes are formed; in 
sloughs; in mucky land; underneath rocks; under the leaves and 
trees, where the sun does not cause it to evaporate. To prevent 
evajDoration there must be coolness, and to make coolness there 
must be shade and humid siu-roundings. Under the surface it is 
held in pockets, in veins and subteranean jDlaces where it has wash- 
ed out its own bed, and in the constant percolating and oozing out 
from swamps, wet jDlaces and other natural reservoirs on toj) of the 
earth. "N^Tiere there is no drainage to carry the Avater away it fills 
all these fountains for the drier portions of the seasons. Each rain 
adds to its supply. Before there was so much drainage,water was 
furnished h\ wells of moderate depth and springs were plenty. 
Kow permanent springs are scarce, and the old wells get dry early 
in the season." 

Far back in our memories of childhood we retained the faintest 
recollection of a few lines from the pen of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, 
found in Poor Richard's Almanac, Avhioh would serve as a text upon 
which Col. Curtis might have based the above extract; yet that dur- 
ing the half century in which the world had moved farther on, than 
in any one thousand yeai"s of earth's history, foresters and farm- 
ers should have been found manifestly retrograding on this ques- 
tion of the world's water supply, was a mystery to us. Though we 
had even then begun writing out the story in briefs of our new ag- 
riculture, more than once we came near to giving up the hope of 
living long enough to convince the world of the efficacy of our new 
system. Here however was one man (Col. Curtis) at least, who had 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 37 

discovered the world's greatest want, and secured a hearing through 
the columns of the Tribune, speaking to hundreds of thousands of 
readers, and although it was the merest mention yet a beginning 
was secured. Just at this time also, our eldest son, Asher P. Cole, 
of Brooklyn N. Y., forwarded to us Mr. Stewart's work from which 
extracts are frequently found along the pages of this volume. 
Scarcely had we opened it, when the following lines attracted our 
attention : 

" The summer rainfall in our climate is rarely, if ever, adequate 
to what would be a maximum croj) consistent with the possibilities 
of the soil." 

This was not news to us since we had found out that a single 
hill of cucumbers would drink a half barrel of water in three day's 
time, and having done so, would begin languishing for want of 
moisture, and failing to secure it, die in a week. In this connection 
note the amount of absorption of water hj plants in the following 
extract from the Country Gentleman under the caption of " Import- 
ance of Water to Plants," which appeared subsequent to the an- 
nouncement of " The New Agriculture" to the world. The italics 
are ours : 

"In experiments j^erformed by Sir. J. B. Lawes he found that 
most jDlants exhaled during the four or five months of their growth 
more than 200 times their dry weight of water, drawn up from the 
soil in which they grew. Dr. J. H. Gilbert stated that the amount 
of water given off by j^lants during growth might be approximately 
estimated as equal to a dejith of three inches of rain for every ton 
of dry substance grown. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert found by act- 
ual experiment that a crop of hay growing on land that had been 
manured, and giving about a ton and a half per acre, evaporated 
two inches more water than an unmanured crop of less than a third 
of a ton. These two inches were equal to 200 tons of water. A heavy 



38 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

crop of barley evaporated nine inches, or 1800 tons of water more 
than bare land lying alongside. These experiments show the im- 
portance of underdraining so as to keep the soil pulverized and mellow, 
to hold like a sponge the water which falls on it, and give it of to growing 
plants as they need it. A good growing crop keej)s the soil in better 
condition than a soil without a crop, the latter being easily flood- 
ed, and again parched by drought : and without underdraining, 
either artificial or natural, the soil cannot be brought into a good 
condition to absorb and hold surplus water." 

And yet, with all of this, Ave reasoned, the world seems to have 
gone stark mad in efiforts to dry up and carry off the waters, acting 
on the theory that better crops might be thereby grown. 

Though we had commenced this volume when Mr. Stewart's 
work came to hand, Ave laid by the pen, and scanned carefully 
everything found in Mr. StcAvart's images. It was a cornucopia of 
good things, the fairest, most frank and undisguised declaration of 
faith we had ever seen from the j^en of any one AA'riting on the sub- 
jects of irrigation and drainage. We found it invaluable. Having 
shoAvn that in European countries, more especially in the British 
Isles, the rainfall is not only in excess of the average in America, 
but also that there is less of sunshine ; and that the atmosiDhere 
being a humid one, evaporation is corresj^ondingly retarded, Mr. 
SteAvart continues : 

" Our intense heats, cause a large portion of the rainfall to be evap- 
orated directly from the soil, and our copious summer rains are 
seldom fully retained, but frequently in large part escape into 
streams and Avater-courses, and are lost to A'egetation. Our fall, 
winter and early spring rains, come at times when the crops de- 
rive the least benefit, or none at all, from them. The amount of 
rainfall that thus escapes paying tribute to our crops is by far the 
largest j)ortion of it. To estimate it at three-fourths of the whole, 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 39 

would not be unreasonable. There would then be left less than 
twelve inches of water to meet the necessities of the growing crops. 
That this sufficiently accounts for the low average of our yearly 
production of grass and grain, is not at all improbable. The supply 
of water then becomes the measure of the fertility of our soil, and 
our climate, subject to torrid drouths in the midst of the growing- 
season, is the obstacle to success which meets the farmer, rather 
than the impoverished soil — a condition, indeed, mainly due to a 
poverty of water." 

" To remove this obstacle to successful cultivation, it is only nec- 
essary that a system of irrigation be adopted. An adequate sup- 
ply of watei', ready for use in case of emergency, will render the 
farmer, the gardener, or the fruit grower, to a very large extent, 
independent of the vicissitudes of the season, and secure, beyond 
accident, a full reward for his labor. If, with a system of irriga- 
tion, a proper system of drainage be also adopted, the cultivator of 
the soil Avill have removed two adverse influences, against which he 
is now called upon so frequently and so ineffectually to strive." 

" To irrigate economically and successfully, however, is a business 
which requires a large amount of technical knowledge and skill, 
and the expenditure of a considerable amount of capital, either in 
money or labor. Irrigation belongs, in fact, to a highly advanced 
condition of agriculture, and can only be applied to land of high 
value or capacity in the hands of intelligent owners." 

Now, here is this eminent author of a most remarkable book, 
wherein is found a larger amount of research than is combined in 
all others on a similar subject which it has been our fortune to 
come across, reaching the conclusion that only by methods of irri- 
gation and drainage successfully combined, can the former be made 
advantageous; and equally concluding that in this way, and this 
only, can anything like a full measure of production be realized; 



40 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

and also, that to attempt to render lands i^roductive to a degree of 
j)rofit, not only calls for an expenditure of a considerable amount 
of capital, either in money or labor, but that " irrigation belongs, in 
fact, to a highly advanced condition of agriculture, and can only 
be applied to land of high value or capacity in the hands of intelli- 
gent owners." 

We have alluded on j^revious jjages to the depressions of spirit, 
not to say discouragements, experienced for years in pursuit of 
what seemed to the world a phantom. AVhile we had found, here 
and there, a friend among the more eminent public men of our 
country, such as Hon. Warner Miller, Hon. John Sherman, Hon. 
Henry M. Teller, and it gives us pleasure to say. General Chester 
A. Arthur, who, reading patiently letters addressed to them at 
length upon the subject matter of our discoveries, turned away 
from public and private duties to give ear to what the world at 
large deemed an illusion — we except Hon. C. R. Earley, whose paper 
on fungus will be found further on in this volume, also Hon. T. L. 
Minier of Elmira, Hon J. H. Selkreg of Ithaca, and Hon. Augustus 
Frank of Warsaw — no expression could we get from anybody calcu- 
lated to encourage us in the • work we had undertaken. Among 
the above named gentlemen Senator Sherman alone was an experi- 
enced farmer. General Benjamin Butterworth, Commissioner of 
Patents, gave patient hearing, and reading our letters, encouraged 
and cheered us by pleasant words doing the heart good. 

"When therefore on November 29th, 1883, we received from Hon. 
William M. White, President at that time of our New York State 
Agricultural Society, a letter unreservedly endorsing our system, 
words fail to express the satisfaction Ave experienced. We had 
known Mr. AMiite a lifetime, and had found him standing squarely 
hj our side for upwards of a quarter of a century, a disciple of 
Horace Greeley, in advocacy and defence of the more advanced 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 41 

ideas of that great era. Mr. White was also the owner of a thousand 
acres of hard pan lands, and had stuck to them, and fortunately 
possesses them to-day, nor will he be likely to j)art with them 
while the work is progressing of demonstrating to the world that 
such lands are more valuable than any other class of soils. To 
this latter proposition we do not expect that the owners of bottom 
lands and prairies will give ready assent, but they will be forced 
in the end to admit the fact. To publish Mr White's letter in full, 
we cannot. Here, however, is an extract : 

" I am happy to find you interested in making two blades of 
grass to grow, where but one grew before ; intent on the useful, 
and determined io make the hillside more productive than the 
valley, and what is more, by seeking a patent, inspire others to 
conclude, that what is worth patenting, is worth possessing. 
A^Tiat a taking idea ? " Subterranean Ii-rigation," an improvement 
on Nature's plan in Dakota's wheat fields. 

" I have not a doubt that the results will prove astonishing, giv- 
ing three or four feet of fertile and jiroductive soil where only 
three or four inches have been hitherto realized, and placing the 
future of agriculture and horticulture as much ahead of the past, 
as thousands are ahead of hundreds. 

" You say you can grow living, perj^etual springs by jour system 
of deep trenching, centering on a lower plane. I get your idea, 
one of reservoirs, automatic, self-acting and self-regulating, water- 
ing the other end of the grasses, feeding and watering vegetation 
at its roots, by inducing it to reach down for supjilies of food and 
drink, at the same time attracting moisture and nutrition from be- 
low. 

" That you are right, I know, and yet I fear you will find the 
average farmer, and even the most enlightened and progressive of 
gardeners, unprepared to accejDt your system as one promising 



42 THE KEW AGEICULTUKE. 

j)rofitable returns, on account of the expense incurred in fitting 
lands as you are doing. The silo doubles the value of the growth 
of an acre, and yet, so long as the old way produces meat and milk 
enough for the i^resent generation, old men and young ones too, 
will, I fear, jirefer the past to the jDresent and future." 

Upwards of two years have passed since Mr. "White's letter was 
received, and despite the ajiprehensions of the author that our system 
may fail of early adoption, we confess to have been made haj)py by 
the knowledge, that while thousands and ten of thousands of farm- 
ers still reject ensilage, every day of our life brings evidence of the 
fact that the new agricultiire is steadily making headway, finding 
friends all over the country, and that no event of the future is more 
certain than its general adoption. It is this general adoption which 
is destined to demonstrate its possibilities. Not by the trenching 
and fitting of five or even of ten acres can a trout stream be grown 
and yet, ten acres of trenching on any hillside having a firm sub- 
soil will bring out a steady flow of crystal waters, telling the most 
wonderful story told since that of Moses at Horeb. 

In The American Anglee, of November 4th, 1884, occurred the 
following lines, from the jien of Mr. H. H. Thompson, an ardent 
student and lover of the woods and waters, and an associate of Mr. 
Wm. C. Harris and Seth Green, in the conduct of the above named 
jjaper : 

"A new era for the brook trout is dawning. In these latter days 
its saviour has arisen. A remarkable man stretches forth his wand 
and trout streams are created. He smites the hillside and a purling 
brook or a rushing river issues in never ceasing flow from its base. 
He gathers the waters from the clouds, dews, and melting snows, 
and after their utilization in the production of marvellous results 
in agriculture and horticulture, releases them to form a lake of cold 
water absolutely pure, or a never failing crystal stream. 



THE NEW AGKICULTURE. 43 

" Mr. A. N. Cole, of Wellsville, Allegany county, New York, has 
been sedulously engaged for two or three years j^ast in developing 
at his " Home on the Hillside " a new system of uniform drainage, 
subterranean irrigation and fertilization, apjDlicable to all mountain- 
ous, hilly or undulatory sections having a firm clay or hard-pan 
sub-soil. His discoveries and experiments have led to most sur- 
prising results." 

Subseqiient to the publication of the above, and the week pre- 
vious to an address made by us at the Cooper Institute in New 
York City upon invitation of the Executive Committee of the 
Farmers' Club, of the American Institute, of New York, the follow- 
ing communication was published in The American Angler, under 

the heading of "Man Begotten Trout Streams." 

****** * * * 

" Let me state a few facts, jDrefacing with a statement by way of 
illustration. The fall of water in overflow at our village mill has 
been capped completely with ice, hiding the water from view, dash- 
ing down an apron at an angle of forty-five degrees or thereabouts. 
The Grenesee, Cliemung, Canisteo and Susquehanna are at many 
points frozen to their bottoms. Brooks issuing from springs are 
frozen which never within my knowledge were known to freeze be- 
fore. My spring brook, evoked from our hillside, among others, has 
frozen in the prism of the canal into which the waters from my 
trenches discharge. This jDrism is completely filled with ice, and 
yet, so warm are the waters entering at the bottom of the canal, they 
find their way out by melting the ice above in the coldest of 
weather. These waters in trenches along my hillside are found in 
chambers of stone at a depth of about three feet and a half, 
covered with an earth sponge of pure mold or rich loam. There 
are nearly two feet of snow along my side hill on the average. Such 
is the effect from evaporation of the waters beneath at spring-water 



44 THE NEW AGKICrLTUEE. 

temperature, that the snows melt at their bottoms, and their waters, 
dropping down into the chambers of stone in the trenches, keep the 
latter full to the surface of the subsoil, and overflowing through the 
surface soil as though a sponge, keej)ing the frost out of the earth; 
and I find my stra^vberry plants growing green beneath the snow, 
making the white roots, etc. 

" And so it is, that the deeper down the waters are dropped the 
warmer they become, and the deeper the snow^s the warmer the soil 
beneath them, and the more the melting at their bottoms goes on. 
"What could be done in countries like Labrador, Alaska, Greenland, 
Iceland, etc., by deep trenching during their short summers, I leave 
to the imagination. To say the least, if the}'' have the right kind of 
slopes and hillsides in Canada, if that cold country can be annexed 
to the United States, we will allow our neighbors of that hitherto 
less hospitable region to come in under our system of protection 
from the rule of the Frost King." 

" The Angler comes as a cheerful comj)anion, pointing back to 
memories of youth. It is a charming jDaper. Long may it wave. 

A. N. Cole. 

Home on the Hillside, Wellsville, N. Y., March Id, 1885. 

In the following quotations from our address at Cooper Union 
the reader will bear in mind that, on the succeeding morning, 
March 25th, the metropolitan i:)ress teemed with mention of Dr. 
Edson's rej)ort touching the impurities of the w^aters of the Croton, 
As the briefest among these editorial articles and the one coming 
most directly to the i:)oint, we quote from the Sun as follows: 

" The Health Commissioners yesterday considered Dr. Edson's re- 
port of the examination which has been made of the Croton water- 
shed, but refused to make it public. It w^as learned that the rej^ort 
speaks of the rapidly growing population of the surrounding dis- 
trict as a source of increasing contamination of the water supply. 




1 " 







THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 45 

Along the Croton Rivei- and its tributaries in many places are 
drains which discharge their contents into the water. A condensed 
milk factory at Brewster's, containing- 100 hands, and another at 
Purdy's containing 75, discharge their refuse into the water, and 
the offal of a slaughter house at Brewster's goes the same way. 
Other cases of a similar nature on a smaller scale are told of in the 
report." 

During our remarks, we made use of the following language. 

" While an attemjDt to trace my lines of thought, examination and 
investigation into the laws governing the movement of the waters 
over, along, through and beneath soils, ultimating at length in my 
discoveries, would doubtless weary my audience, I may be permit- 
ted to read the following communication made to the Farmers' 
Club of Elmira in confession of my obligations to that body for 
generous treatment received during a discussion of the merits of 
my system. 

Home on the Hillside, Wellsville, N.Y., July 31, 1884. 
To The Farmer's Club, of Elmira, N. Y. 

" I address you through the Husbandman to express my gratitude 
and profound appreciation of the compliments so unexpectedly 
paid me by a body whose proceedings I have been for years noting 
with deep interest. 

" I have been quite generally presumed to be one who cares little 
for any matter outside of politics, and the tone of your expressions 
while discussing the question of questions with me, not merely at 
the present but all along through my life, touches my heart in a 
way I scarcely knoAV how to sufficiently exjaress. 

" In no boastful spirit do I point to the facts connected with my 
lineage as found epitomized in an article in the Free Press, copies 
of which I send. From earliest childhood, two passions have 
seemed to rule with me, the hatred of oppression and correspond- 



46 THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 

ing love of liberty, and the desire to see our mother earth restored 
to a condition akin to the one pictured of Eden. 

" Do not misunderstand me. I would not see earth made a gar- 
den by the hand of the Father, but holding as I do that work is 
worship, I would have the worship on the part of the children go 
on, till nations becoming families and families dwelling each under 
its own vine and fig tree, shall make home, with the farm and gar- 
den, an Eden of love the world over. 

" For this disposition, and what I have done and am doing in the 
direction suggested, I am entitled to neither honor nor riches. 
Eiches I have not gotten, but honor has come at last, not in the 
way the world counts it, as a rule. But your club seems to be im- 
pressed with the conviction that, to make money, I would not have 
recourse to deception. I surely would not, since I could not and 
be myself. 

" I have, indeed, found the way to the new agriculture so fitly 
denominated by one of your most eminent members, Mr. C. H. 
Lewis. Nor the way only. Yes, I have found the thing itself, and 
no possible escape from it. 

" If I should make money out of my discoveries it will come good, 
and will be used, bej^ond the comforts and becoming adornments 
of home, to do good in all ways. 

" I sought the patent, not to jolace an embargo on the glebe, but 
as an incentive to imiDrovement of the glebe. 

" I was but a boy in the summer of 1838, when, amid distresses, 
not merely of business, but of drought almost Avithout precedent, 
I travelled on foot over a large jjortion of Ohio, canvassing for a 
little horticultural and agricultural monthly, the " Buckeye Plough- 
boy," on more than one occasion sleeping in the open air, eating 
fruit by the way, and shelling out the wheat, eating it, doing the 
grinding with my then young and firm teeth. 



THE NEW AGKICULTURE. 47 

" It was in the counties of Sandusky, Huron, Seneca and others 
of northwestern Ohio, where I found fires sweeping along the 
prairies and farms, destroying crops and timber, the trees having 
in many instances dropped their foliage before their time. Water 
was scarce for man and beast, and pestilence followed in the track 
of the droughts and desolation. Three hundred graves of fathers, 
mothers and children were unwet by the rains at lower Sandusky, 
(now Fremont). The scum upon the waters of the river was so 
thick that squirrels were said to have crossed it in droves without 
wetting their feet. 

" Swamps and morasses were on fire burning to a depth, in many 
instances, reaching the rock from three to six feet beneath the sur- 
face, since a uniform lime-rock underlies whole counties of this 
portion of Ohio. It was this rock formation that especially attract- 
ed my attention. To obtain water from wells was stubborn work. 
Great streams in some instances gushed out in copious flow, but 
disappeared quickly as some deep fissure in the rock was reached in 
the flow of their waters. 

" Thus early did I begin the observation and study of soils. Not 
merely did I seek to know the surface. In streams, dry in their 
beds, and in furrows of field and farm my studies went on. The 
subsoils were especially observed. 

" Whence came the waters ? These I knew dropped down from 
the clouds in the form of rains, dews, frosts and snows. When it 
came winter, I found out the treasures of the hail. I looked 
back longingly during nearly a year of dreary discontent to the 
leeks and onions, rains and dews and even the drifting snows of 
that Allegany of nearly fifty years ago. I remembered the crystal 
waters of the good-bye land I had left for the attractions of the 
then great west, and dreamed dreams of grasses all green in their 
verdure and grateful in their juices. 



48 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

" This is a goodly land, I said mentally, and yet, without water 
it seems much like a jDlace we read about, in no sense attractive. 
There was no end to my dreams. How can these great seams in 
the rocks be sealed ? was the question uppermost in my mind. 
These streams so abundant in flow along smooth rocky channels, 
I said mentally, in spring and autumn, are fearful to contemplate 
as found amid the fervors of the summer solstice. Great rains 
would come in ordinary seasons, lasting at times for days in mid- 
summer, and in three days time no desert was ever more dry. 
Here, in favorable seasons, was grown that wonderful white wheat 
we used to see in our boyhood, ecliiDsing that, if possible, grown in 
the valley of the far-famed Genesee. 

" This was the school, added to a few lessons learned iii Michigan, 
then just admitted into our Union as a state, where I studied geol- 
ogy and geograj)h3', jDhysics, physiology, botany and other sciences 
without number in their application to the constitutions of men 
and animals, j)lants, trees, grasses, grains and all else of life in its 
multitudinous forms and phases. 

" And all along since I have studied on, and reached conclusions 
and demonstrated them as follows: — 

" 1. The Father gives us the rains and dews and frozen waters 
in copious abundance, nor need any of the sons and daughters of 
men, nor beasts of the field, or fowl, or fish, or flesh in any form, 
nor so much as the grass beneath our feet want for food and drink. 

" 2. Man, made but little lower than the angels, and monarch as 
he is of earth, has the ability to gather up the waters in store to be 
used as wanted, controlling their flow as they make their ways 
adown to the seas, and in facile direction so conduct them in cur- 
rents as to make their tracks the ways of pleasantness and jDaths of 
jieace, at the same time furnishing fruitions to earth's inhabitants 
in basket and store of measureless abundance. 



• THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 49 

" 111 the discussions indulged in on the jiart of your Club at date 
of July 26th, while considering the systems of horticulture and 
agriculture, proposed by your corresjDondent, the question unan- 
swered was the one always asked ' will it pay ? ' 

" That a body of men like yours should have been found in sub- 
stance agreeing to every proposition I make in urging the merits 
of my system, and that, too, when that system proposes the most 
startling of new departures, is evidence that the world has reached 
a point where all things seem possible with men as with their 
Maker. Reading your discussions as I do, you agree to this : — 

" 1. The rains and dews and melting snows can be gathered into 
store, and in regions of country where hard-pan and clay subsoils 
are found, so held back or allowed to flow on as to feed and water 
vegetation in their track, giving to all trees, plants, grasses, grains 
and other forms of plant life what is needed by way of food and 
drink in abundance, and never in surfeit. 

" 2. You agree that the waters moving evenly and in uniform 
currents from mountain and hilltop along slopes and inclines till 
the streams are reached, passing through the soil in subterranean 
flow, bear with them nutrition for plants at their roots, which, by 
capillary attraction are watered and fed in conformity to the neces- 
sities of each and all. 

" 3. You equally agree that irrigation and abundant supply of 
food being realized, all forms of plant growth will be perfectly 
develojDed. 

"4. Again, you agree that when my system comes to be gen- 
erally adopted, there will be fewer floods, fewer frosts of a deadly 
character, and as for droughts they need not occur in regions of 
country at least underlaid with the prevailing subsoil of the slopes 
and inclines of the Southern Tier, and of other regions similarly 
conformed. 



50 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. . 

" By way of encouragement, let me say therefore, that the con- 
clusions which seem to have been reached by your club are those 
arrived at by Hon. William M. White, President of our State Agri- 
cultural Society, Hon. Warner Miller, Chairman of the Committee 
on Agriculture of the United States Senate, General Benjamin But- 
terworth, Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Henry M. Teller, Secre- 
tary of the Interior, and, if I am correctly informed, Hon. Geo. B. 
Loring, Commissioner of Agriculture, and hundreds of others, as 
eminent in all ways as the most notable in our land. 

" In conclusion, let me say that, all I have claimed can be done, 
and most of it has been done and demonstrated by myself ; the re- 
sults are so wonderful in all ways as to incline me to shrink from 
their enumeration and specification, and yet here is an epitome. 

" Waters having descended their incline, however impregnated 
or discolored at their sources, reach the level of the streams in 
purity, having left all behind in their track adapted to the develop- 
ment of i^lant growth. 

" The stones, sticks and all else in the soil inducing fungus 
growths at the roots of plants being removed and placed deep 
down in the trenches, and manures having been so composted with 
lime, ashes, salts and other fermentizing and assimilating agencies 
as to i^revent germination of seeds, and completely destroying the 
seed of fungus, every root of every plant will be free from disease, 
and perfect stalks, buds, blossoms and fruit follow, and health 
coming at all stages of growth, it is transmitted beyond to the 
consumer not merely, but to the seeds and germinations of future 
plant growths. 

" Stagnation of waters nowhere occurring, health rather than 
decay and death will be found in the track of the waters. The 
l^otatoe rot will be conquered, Avire worms and the small grub 
eating the white roots of vegetation will largely if not wholly dis- 



THE NEW AGRIOTILTUEE. 51 

appeal', and when it comes to malaria with all of its animalculse 
" in the air above, the earth beneath, and the waters under the 
earth," these will in their baneful infections pass away. 

" Among our hills and mountains, springs will gush out in purity 
and permanency, lakes be begotten, rivers formed, and reservoirs be 
found where none have hitherto been seen ; and these, swarming 
with fish, will so multiply the food products of land and water and 
so improve them in flavor and quality, as to eclipse anything real- 
ized in the past. 

" But this a^jplies only to lands such as are found in the region 
round about us and to similar subsoils elsewhere. 

" On nearly all portions of the world, outside of sea levels, by the 
use of tile and kindred appliances in the form of troughs on the 
elevations and slopes in which to aggregate the waters, all of 
which are provided for under our system, the retention of water 
beneath the soil in its flow along declines in subterranean cur- 
rents, evaporation through the earth sponge being uniform and in- 
spiring, the climates of New Jersey and Long Island, if not of Dela- 
ware and Maryland, will come to New York and New England. 

"Will it pay? I answer: Come one, come all to our "Home on 
the Hillside " and see for yourselves. My neighbors have seen, 
tested, feasted and felt, and my work is before their eyes. . Some 
of your own citizens know and realize what I have demonstrated 
and accomplished." 

The balance of my address at the Cooper Union in New York, 
will be found in the following article from The American Angler as 
reported by its Managing Editor Mr. Wm. C. Harris, who was 
present on the occasion ; it ajDpeared under the heading of " The 
Waters Led Cajitive." 

" On Tuesday last, March 24, Mr. A. N. Cole, of Wellsville, Alle- 
gany County, N. Y., addressed, by invitation, the Farmer's Club of 



52 THE >fEW AGRICULTURE. 

the American Institute, at their semi-monthly meeting, on the sub- 
ject of his 'New Agriculture.' He took his audience by storm, 
nearly or quite every person present pronouncing his address one 
of the most striking ever delivered before that body; convincing, 
apparently, his hearers that he had foiind out the way to grow 
springs, spring brooks, lakes and rivers of water, going to the 
clouds for sources of supply and gathering in the rains, dews and 
waters from melting snows, ' holding, husbanding and housing ' them 
at will, and moving them forward in a way to i:)roduce such results 
in agriculture and horticulture as to astonish everyone in this age 
of marvels. 

"Mr. Cole denominated his servant (the waters) "Leviathan," de- 
clared he had him yoked, a hook in his jaAv, and jDroposed to jilow 
with him vmtil j^aradise lost shall be regained. The peoj)le who 
are just at present not only vexed in sjjirits about a plentiful sup- 
ply of Croton, but are fearful that our water is being poisoned by 
surface washings, will, we feel sure, read with interest the conclu- 
sion of Mr. Cole's address, as follows : 

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, having extended to me a jia- 
tient and attentive hearing, for which thanking you once more, 
l^ermit me in closing to say that I have been engaged for three or 
four years in demonstrating the use to be made of the waters, and 
have become convinced that by gathering them in and directing 
their flow in subterranean currents they may be droj)ped deejoly 
enough into reservoirs along inclines to hold them not only in re- 
serve, but at a temj)erature considerably above freezing, keej^ing 
frost out of the soil. To say the least, in moderate winter weather, 
by evajDoration through the soil, the snows will be melted at their 
bottoms, and the waters dropping into the reservoirs below, their 
movement will follow in even flow through surface soils, as 
through a sponge, and through subsoils in percolation, bearing 



THE NEW AGKICULTUKE. 53 

with them inspirations to plant growth, having an influence as yet 
scarcely dreamed of. 

" It is not only subsurface, subterranean or underground irriga- 
tion which is realized in perfection under operation of the methods 
governing in my system, but a perfect method of drainage also, 
carrying off the surplus waters and leaving to mother earth the 
work of elaboration, and to plants their selections of food and de- 
sired fill of drink, always in abundance, and never in surfeit. 

" The time has come when around and about every home of our 
entire land the work should begin of subsurface or underground 
irrigation and drainage. If on slopes and inclines, with firm sub- 
soils and an abundance of stone, the work can be readily and econ- 
omically done. If the soils are porous, then should clay or cement 
be used in construction of reservoirs and inclines, and the form of 
tile, to which recourse may be had, has only to be shaped for the 
work in hand, when yoking of " Leviathan " will be begun in a way 
to demonstrate what he is capable of doing. 

" Suffice it to say that were the slopes on the east and west banks 
of the Hudson thus generally trenched and fitted, your great and 
grand river would show a steady current of pure spring water 
moving down to the ocean, regardless of droughts or removal of 
the forests, so defying diminution of its tides as to make navigation 
of any portion of its channel, even in midsummer, a something un- 
necessary to provide otherwise for. You will find the begetting of 
lakes at any altitude chosen among the mountains, hills and valleys 
of the counties of Albany, Columbia, Schenectady, Schoharie, 
Montgomery, Herkimer, Dutchess, Putnam, Greene and Ulster, 
not to mention others farther north, not only a pastime but a 
profit, of which not one in a million of the American peojale yet 
dream. You Avill find that growing of crystal sj^rings, and beget- 
ting of rivulets and rivers of water is a something as easy of 



54 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

accomplishment as the sinking of a well, or of an ordinary cistern. 

" You will find the grasses of your dooryards and lawns and the 
plants in your gardens greenly growing and making root all winter 
beneath the snows; and the snows melting at their bottoms, the 
waters will find their way to bases of slojoes at temperature several 
degrees above freezing. You will find water, evolved on and out 
from your lakes, hung up along your hillsides sufficient to j^i'ovide 
all of reserve needed to hold the Hudson at high tide during every 
month of the year; and, applying like principles to what has been 
denominated the Great American desert, you Avill see gathered in 
those torrents of water continually descending the slopes of the 
Sierras and Rockies, coming of melting snows and passing on 
from trench to trench, borne down mountain sides, across plain, 
and descending into valleys, nowhere appearing on the surface, 
except as man may direct, making confluence with the rivers in 
purity and perpetuity of flow. 

"You will find surface and subsoils alike made softer, more 
porous and spongy, alkali extracted or again infused, salts, ammonia, 
etc., evenly diffused, fertilization i^erfected, and production in- 
creased to a degree beyond computation. You will find hundreds, 
yea, thousands of trees growing, giving shade and bearing fruits 
to where one is being felled by the woodman's axe, and clouds 
forming and rains and dews descending in hitherto rainless and 
treeless regions. The English grasses, growing greenly all over 
our southland amid the fervors of the summer solstice, will give 
to our brethren of that section the milk and honey, butter and 
cheese, and other like products of our graver north lands. By way 
of experiment, try this method on the dooryards, lawns, gardens, 
etc., about your houses, and let your city fathers look into it and 
make up their minds to have babbling brooks, with occasional cas- 
cades, dropi^ing waters crystal-clear into miniature lakes of the j^arks 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 55 

and places already existing, and steadily multiplying, in and about 
New York, Brooklyn and other towns in circuit, and see what will 
come of it. Lest " Leviathan " be underrated as regards his jDOwers, 
let lakes everywhere be hung up among the rocks and mountains 
of New England, and, by use of the water motor, let the wheels 
moving the mills, factories, foundries and workshops of that region 
be run under the force and impulse of his self-begotten, auto- 
matic, self-regulating, unfed, unwatered, yoked, tamed and magic 
movements^ — and so shall the harvest be." 

The following discussion of our system by the Farmer's Club of 
Elmira, N. Y., occui-red at a meeting on July 26, 1885, and was 
fully reported in the columns of The Husbandman of Elmira, from 
which it is now transcribed : 

" In the discussion of the subject of Mr. Cole's system by the 
Farmer's Club of Elmira, at its weekly meeting of July 26th, the 
following report published in The Husbandman, demonstrates the 
interest manifested in it : 

" On the call for correspondence the Secretary read a letter de- 
scribing a new system of irrigation. Although it had not been ad- 
dressed directly to the Club, and the writer perhaps had no thought 
that it would be submitted for discussion, it seemed pertinent, and, 
in fact, was invited by members to whom a synopsis had been 
given, and they gave attentive hearing during the reading, for the 
matters presented were calculated to excite interest in the minds 
of farmers whose hill lands of obstinate soil and under ordinary 
treatment failed to give due returns for labor expended in fitting* 
them for grain and grass crops. The first expressions were by 
gentlemen who had personal acquaintance with Mr. Cole, and who 
evinced pleasure in testifying to his worth as a citizen and his high 
sense of honor. They believe he would not lay before the people a 
scheme to defraud a single farmer, no matter how much profit he 



56 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

might reap from tlie transaction. Mr. Lewis ^v as particularly warm 
in bis expressions of regard, and referring to matters embraced in 
tbe letter be said : 

" ' AVe all know tbat it is possible to increase crojDS four-fold by 
irrigation, taking as tbe standard tbe average yields on lands tbat 
are subject to extremes of drougbt and wet, and our clay lands are 
nearly all of tliis character. I bave seen an illustration on my own 
land of tbe princijile embraced in Mr. Cole's system wbere a ridge 
beld an accumulation of water from rains until it could slowly pass 
tbrougb and furnisb moisture for j)lants growing below. Tbeir 
growth w^as two or three times as great as on other j^ortions of the 
field of like character wbere moisture was not jDrovided at tbe right 
time. If we can, by any system, bold back tbe surplus water that 
comes from rains and snows, — water tbat usually runs over tbe 
surface to the nearest creek or river — and let it out just at the time 
when tbe plants need it, I am confident that we can reaj) harvests 
uniform in excellence and always full. The question to be consid- 
ered is — can we afford to inaugurate tbe system and carry it to 
completion when its cost will add greatly to the investment, mak- 
ing the farm cost, let us say, twice as much as before tbe improve- 
ment ? I think the expense may be afforded with projDer manage- 
ment, and that its gradual improvement, so that a piece of land 
treated by this system may give profits to be apjjlied to the im- 
jDrovement of more land. If we were required to treat our hillsides 
in the way proj)Osed all at once, there is not money enough in this 
county to effect the improvement, but with a very small part of the 
money that would be required to do tbe w^bole work we can begin 
and then use tbe profits to carry forw^ard the work. I believe tbe 
time is coming, and is not far distant, when the face of the earth 
will be changed and a new agriculture, more profitable than ours, 
"will be open to every farmer. I believe tbe ingenuity of man will 



THE NEW AGEICULTTJKE. 57 

devise ways by which every acre that we bow cultivate will be 
made to produce two or three times as much as we get from it 
now. That will be our new agriculture. Perhaps this system dis- 
covered by Mr. Cole is the first step toward the general improve- 
ment. 

" G. S. McCann. If we can adopt any plan that will increase 
crops to two or three times joresent yield we can afford considera- 
ble expense to effect the improvement. It is not so much a matter 
of cost in the outset as returns afterwards. 

" W. A. Armstrong. That is the right way to view the new sys- 
tem. First, ascertain by actual inspection of the grounds treated 
by Mr. Cole two or three years ago what improvement is effected, 
what advantage is already seen; in fact, get full information from 
every available source. Now suppose his estimate of cost be taken 
at $200 or $250 to the acre. Manifestly it will not be within the 
range of possibilities for farmers generally to improve fifty or a 
hundred acres in a single season at such great cost. But take 
another view, premising of course that benefits received will repay 
the outlay. Take one acre and treat it by this system. Suj)pose 
its profits in annual crops are one-fifth of the cost required to pro- 
vide irrigation. Why plainly in five years the profit will jDrovide 
funds for treating another acre. Then there will be two acres to 
yield profits, and accumulation of gain would, in a few years, pro- 
vide for treating an extensive field. Sometimes it is advantageous 
for farmers to lay out a good deal of money in improvements, even 
when the money must be borrowed. As for instance suppose a 
field never does more than return cost of labor expended on it. 
The land may have cost a hundred dollars an acre, but if it will 
produce nothing more than fair compensation for labor employed 
on it, the value is nothing, because the labor can be sold for the 
money without waiting for crops to grow, or it might be employed 



58 THE NEW AGEICULTITRE. 

on other portions of the farm where it would secure fuller returns. 
But if this field, by a proper system of improvement can be made 
to pay a large profit, not only on the money expended in improve- 
ment but on the original cost of the land, and also on the labor 
employed in cultivation, why, to the dullest mind the argument in 
favor of making the improvement will be very plain. That there 
are such fields on a great majority of our hill farms, there can be 
no doubt. When we find the new agriculture, of which Mr. Lewis 
speaks, Ave shall find these lands improved by some system and the 
^ain to farmers who now own them will be very great. 

" C. H. Lewis. That is precisely what I am looking for. My 
farm is mainly heavy soil that has cost a great deal of labor to 
bring to its present condition where some j)rofit can be derived by 
cultivation. But developement is not completed. I suppose that 
after all the years I have spent in trying to improve my farm it 
may be worth $50 per acre. Now if it could be improved by Mr 
Cole's plan, as I believe it might, it would bring better profits on 
$500 per acre than it does now on $50. If this supposition be cor- 
rect it would be wise economy to expend a large sum of money on 
€very acre to bring it to the highest state of production. I dare 
say that $100 or $200 exj)ended on an acre might, in the course of 
eight or ten years, put into my pocket a great deal larger sum of 
profit than I can have by cultivating the land as it now is, and the 
gain after the original, cost is returned, would be all profit." 

The foregoing is only a portion of the discussion upon the occa- 
sion, the members ^participating in it being its President, Mr. 
Cann, its Secretary, Mr. Armstrong, Editor of the Husbandman and 
others, several of the number being among the first farmers of the 
Chemung Valley. Such was the tone of the discussion throughout 
as to cheer our heart and strengthen our determination to speak 
out boldly, and tell what we had found out. This we began doing, 



THK NEW AGKICULTUKE. , 59 

and yet, so startling were our statements, and so far short had we 
yet come of a satisfactory demonstration, that we went slowly, 
proceeding step by step, fortifying as we progressed. Not all of 
the members of our family, nor so much as a single individual 
among our more intimate neighbors and friends were able to 
understand us, so complete was the revolution impending. Then 
too, we may as well confess it, faithful friends never before doubt- 
ing, felt that we were deceiving ourself, over confident, and were 
spending money in a way that would never return. That our 
credit correspondingly suffered is a fact we may as well confess. 

At this juncture, through the kind consideration of President 
Arthur and the Hon. Henry M. Teller, Secretary of the Interior, 
both of whom had know us a lifetime and had taken a deep interest 
in our discoveries, we received a commission sending us to the 
Pacific Coast, to examine the last completed link of the Northern 
Pacific Eailroad. This, though heljDing to the extent of less 
than a thousand dollars, came at the time most needed, enabling 
us to go forward with the work of demonstration. Before going on 
our official western visit, we assured the President and Secretary 
that we had no doubt whatever that such were the nature of our 
discoveries, that were oiu- system to be applied to the reclamation 
of the lands belonging to the government in that desolate region 
denominated the Great American desert, these could be made as 
generally productive as those of other sections of our country, 
now thickly populated, and in certain portions, vastly more produc- 
tive. Going out, and returning, we were convinced, beyond the 
shadow of a doubt that millions of acres of the lands skirting 
that greatest of lines, the Northern Pacific Railway, as seen along 
mountain sides, plateaus, plains and valleys found in treeless and 
rainless regions could be completely reclaimed, and made as fertile 
and productive as those of the most favored countries of earth. 



60 . THE NEW AaEICULTURE. 

Reaching home about the tenth of May 1884, all went hope- 
fully on for a while, till came that fearful Ijlizzard, not soon to be 
forgotten, about the last of the month, and so chilling our expect- 
ations as to bring us near to discouragement. It Avas while journey- 
ing to the Pacific coast that we had occasion for a few hours to look 
squarely in the face a champion blizzard, gotten up at Manitoba's 
best, leaving no room for doubt as regards the j^lace where, congel- 
ation j)utting on the intense, "the frozen waters gendered are." 
"WTiether the one which struck western New York and other sec- 
tions in the East and West on the 29th of May, 1884, has been 
equalled in the memory of the oldest inhabitant is doubtful. No 
more decisive test of the efficacy of our system as protection 
against frost could have been applied. The ground was frozen to 
the depth of from one to two inches on all plowed lands upon our 
fifty acres outside of the acre and a quarter at that time per- 
fected in trenching under our system. In the latter, evaporation 
of spring water through the soil was such as to j^revent freezing, 
and the damage to our garden was correspondingly mitigated. 
Our strawberries were much injured by the frost striking the buds 
and blossoms, and the currants were killed at the tojjs but not at 
the bottoms of the Inishes. The result was, damage, but by no 
means that total loss of the crops experienced by farmers and 
gardners in western New York generally. This convinced us that 
our system is in'ooi against the effects of frost to a degree that 
makes it, in this particular, worth millions annually to regions sub- 
ject to disaster from this source. 

It was a consolation to know that our s^-stem had jDroven in 
some degree protective against Manitoba's champion blizzard, and 
yet, in view of the fact that we had gotten up great expectations, 
confident of being able to show to the world the wonder workings 
of our system to an extent coming so near to demonstration as to 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. Gl 

make our way clear to immediate success, suoh were the effects of 
frost vipon our grounds as to cause us to feel that we wished no- 
body to come and see till another season. Many came, neverthe- 
less during- the siimmer, and in no instance did anyone go away 
unconvinced. Individuals came Avithout number, chief among 
them being Mi". J. Austin Shaw of Rochester, and Mr. D. C. Hop- 
kins, of the Almond Fruit Farm, both saying pleasant things and. 
doing all that was possible to cheer and encourage us to persever- 
ance in the Avork we had undertaken. In the meantime, a few 
brave men among our Allegany count}' farmers, having organized 
a club, had so far gotten a start with their organization as to make 
themselves felt all over our county. Discussion of the merits of 
our system had begun in a lively way, the news getting out that 
our patent had been allowed. The good effects were immediate, 
promjDting the Allegany Farmers' Club to appoint a committee to 
visit our grounds, and examine into the merits of our system. The 
committee came, and after spending several hours in examining in- 
to our Avork and noting results, reached conclusion as f oUoavs : 

Wellsville, Aug. 11, 1884. 
Mr. a. N. Cole: 

The undersigned committee, representing the Farmers' Club of 
Allegany county, having examined the plot of ground fitted under 
your improved system of subterranean drainage, irrigation and fer- 
tilization, take pleasure in assuring the public that our observa- 
tions justify us in concluding that you are enabled to realize all 
you claim to accomplish by that system. 
E. E. Hyde, Belmont, Jas. S. "VVilcox, Belmont, 

C. A. WiNDUs, " I. P. Truman, " 

D. H. Norton, Friendship. 

This committee Avas as al)ly constituted as any one of equal number 
that could be chosen from the membership of any like organization 



62 THE NEW AGEICULTUEE. 

in our State. Two of tliem, to wit : Messrs. Truman and Hyde being 
physicians, while Messrs, "SVilcox, Windus and Norton are among the 
most successful of Allegany farmers, the latter at this time President 
of the county club. Hon. B. F. Langworthy, wddely known in Alle- 
gany and adjoining counties as a gentleman of rare enterprise 
and intelligence, one of the most svibstantial and successful of Alle- 
gany farmers, came about the same time, and making careful ex- 
amination, pronounced the new agriculture the Avay to success. It 
was the year before, that Mr. J. F. Langworthy came, and about 
the same time also Mr. D. C. HojDkins, of the Almond Fruit 
Farm, both of whom formed favorable conclusions touching the in- 
fluence of subsurface irrigation on fruit trees, as shown by the sin- 
gle ai^ple tree left standing on our grounds at the time trenching 
was begun. 

On the first of July, 1885, the "Home on the Hillside " was visited 
by Dr. J. P. Roberts^ now of Ithaca, N. Y., who has in charge the 
University Farm, at Cornell, N. Y., an agriculturist having a na- 
tional reputation. Layman, as we are, though having faith amount- 
ing to sight in our system, we felt nevertheless, a trifle anxious 
lest this most eminent of farm doctors might discover defects in 
our system as to the conformation of soils, methods of fertilizing, 
or in other jDarticulars of a serious nature, hence we were especi- 
ally gratified, when he uttered his opinion as follows : 

" Yes, Mr. Cole, you do all you claim to accomplish ; you gather 
the waters into your reservoirs and jDass them through the soil 
rather than leaving them to run riot along the surface ; you trans- 
form this hitherto shunned and dreaded hardjian into soft, porous, 
productive and best of soils to the dej^th of your trenches, thereby 
enabling the roots of vegetation to descend deeply into the earth. 
You remove the stone operating as obstructions and diseasing the 
roots of plants, and put them where they will do most good ; you pro- 



THE NEW AGEICULTUHE. G5 

vide against floods and droughts, and to a great extent, if not 
wholly, defeat the effects of frost, but in doing this, it seems to me 
that you are digging your trenches much wider than necessary, 
and it would be better to sink them deeper, thus avoiding unne- 
cessary cost, and at the same time making warm, soft, porous and 
productive soil to greater depth." 

In discussing this point, the Professor told a story of his experi- 
ence while in Iowa of tracing the roots of clover in their descent 
in a gravel bank, beating the one told us by Horace Greeley as re- 
garded the descent of the roots of trees to a depth of twenty-two 
feet to reach the waters of a river in subterranean flow. Mr. Gree- 
ley made his statement as one of information and belief, coming 
from credible witnesses in California, while Professor Roberts based 
his statement upon personal knowledge of the fact that, in order to 
reach water, clover roots descended to a dej^th of either eight or 
eighteen feet. (We are quite sure it was the latter depth but as 
we may have misunderstood him, we will therefore refer the public 
to the author of this last story to say whether it was eight or eigh- 
teen feet that the clover roots found their way into the earth.) 
AVhether eight, or eighteen, it is safe to conclude that the tops of 
that clover corresponded to the length and strength of the roots. 
Having settled this point, every reader will not fail to discover the 
reason why there is now growing and ripening in our garden in 
boundless profusion more bushels of luscious strawberries to the 
acre than the average farmer grows of potatoes, and that these are 
in hundreds of instances, the size of ordinary jDeaches. Consider- 
able numbers of these berries measure from four to eight inches in 
circumference. We have decided, as suggested by Dr. Roberts, to 
go down a little deeper, sinking our trenches from three to four 
feet into the subsoil, and arranging all overflow trenches beneath 
the surface soil out of reach of the deepest spading or plowing. 



66 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

A memorable day was the 7tli of July, 1885, the one uj)on which 
occurred the formal introduction of our system to the world. "We 
are now writing at the date of August 3rd, 1885. On Wednesday, 
July 30th, Mr. William C. Harris, Editor in Chief of the American 
Angler, published at 252 Broadway, New York City, made us a 
visit. He sj^ent a day with us, looking over our system in detail 
and gave decision as follows : " The New Agriculture " is the way 
to a new earth with pure waters and healthy plants and j^eoples," 
adding "Brothers Cole and Thorn j)son are right about it, the 
brook trout must not go, and will not go." 

Below will be found an extract from the correspondence of the 
Buffalo Express, second in circulation and influence to no paper in 
our State outside of the metropolis, it appearing on the day suc- 
ceeding our exhibit, July 8th. 

" Yesterday was a notable day for Wellsville, or at least for one 
of its most widely-known inhabitants. Nestled away among the 
ragged Allegany hills, this snug town of about 4,000 people has in 
common with the rest of the world, its ambitions and its celebri- 
ties. The particular industry that yesterday took a long stride 
toward poj)ular recognition and favor is one growing up on the 
western hill of the town, and is known as Cole's system of under- 
ground iri'igation. Reckoned either as a freak or curiosity, or 
better than both of these, as a step into the next century in the 
domain of agriculture, this little plot of five acres of land, only 
two of which are as yet developed, will bear the closest inspection 
of either the skeptic or the willing convert. 

" But perhajDS everybody is not aware of the system, now under 
practical trial, which j^romises to revolutionize the world's agricul- 
ture, nay, according to its enthusiastic author, has already done so. 
Some four }■ ears ago Mr. A. N. Cole, better known as the " father 
of the Republican party " and the veteran editor of the Wellsville 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 67 

Free Press, began to put in operation a system of agriculture 
based on underground irrigation, an idea entirely liis own. He 
had been studying the system a number of years before that time, 
but had not until then carried it into practice. There were draw- 
backs that need not be mentioned here and there was, of course, 
a town full of j)eople who laughed at the idea as a crazy notion 
sure to come to nothing. But Mr. Cole j^ersevered, and it is safe 
to say that yesterday he was able to demonstrate his success so 
entirely as to ensure him the title of the proudest man in western 
New York and perhaps out of it as well." 

From beginning to end of a two column article, commendatory 
throughout, the correspondent of The Express drew a faithful 
picture of what he saw on this occasion. 

We now give the report of Mr. Charles A. Green, sent to our 
place as special corresj)ondent of the New York Tribune. In mak- 
ing the rej^ort Mr. Green dates his letter at Clifton, July 8th, on 
the day succeeding our exhibition: 

" A short ride from Rochester up the Genesee Valley among 
promising grain fields, fragrant meadows and shady pastures, and 
another hour along the southern tier bring me to a prosperous, 
hill-girt village, lying like a speckled egg in a bird's nest. In this 
pretty village of Wellsville is the home of Mr. A. N. Cole, the vet- 
eran editor and horticultural experimenter. His residence is 
situated on an eastern slope commanding views of the village and 
surrounding country. I found here a company of about 100 
gentlemen, ministers, j)oliticians, j^hysicians, the jDress and neigh- 
bors, who, like The Tribune corresj)ondent, had been invited to wit- 
ness the results of " The New Agriculture," as Mr. Cole has named 
his new method of irrigation. Mr. Cole expressed his pleasure at 
seeing The Tribune represented, and remarked that it was Horace 
Greeley who gave him his first insight into this method of agri- 



'68 THE NEW AC4RICULTUKE. 

culture, by relating tlie peculiarities of a section of country in 
California. Near Los Angeles a river disappeared from view and 
followed a subterranean course for a distance of twenty-two miles 
on an average of twenty feet below the surface of the soil. The 
land surrounding this portion of country was a desert, but that 
immediately over the subterranean river was covered with luxur- 
ious vegetation. He also spoke of a similar mysterious disapjaear- 
•ance of a river in the Mesilla Valley, New Mexico. It was the 
inowledge of these lost rivers, he said, that gave birth to the ideas 
"which have grown into " The New Agriculture." In speaking of 
the remarkable growth over these rivers, Mr. Greeley mentioned 
the fact that vegetables and trees growing there, sent their roots 
down until they reached the river water beneath. Mr. Cole 
says that Professor Koberts, of Ithaca, has told him that he 
has traced red clover roots to a depth of eighteen feet, 
that were growing in a bed of gravel overlying water. 

" Mr. Cole has been studying irrigation since he was seventeen 
years old, but his present system flashed upon him within the past 
few years. He has not yet extended his working model over more 
than two to three acres. I shall attemj^t to explain what I saw, 
and to state the claims of Mr. Cole as clearl}' as I can, considering 
our brief and frequently interrujDted conversation. 

" We were first shown a j)atch of strawberries containing nearly 
two acres. These plants were grown in hills about eighteen inches 
apart each way, mulched with forest leaves, liberally fertilized 
with yard manure, and irrigated after the new method. I was 
told by the former owner of the hillside that when he sold it to 
IMr. Cole it w'as an unjsroductive jDiece of ground. The soil proper 
Tvas not over ten or tAvelve inches deep and rested upon a tena- 
cious, clayey hard-j)an, which was impervious to water. He said 
the frosts acted so seriously upon this soil, on account of the sur- 



THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 69 

jilus water not being- able to escape tlirough the subsoil that it was 
almost impossible to keep plants alive in it during winter. Even 
the fence j)osts would be thrown out by the frost in a very short 
time. A prominent contractor who was walking by my side at the 
time, said that all that section of the country was underlaid by 
this j^eculiar subsoil, which is a great drawback to plant growth. 
I was also informed by this same gentleman that this part of 
Allegany County was not favorable for strawberry growing, or 
other fruit except aj)ples, and that the supply of small fruits is re- 
ceived largely from other sections. Mr. Cole has planted numer- 
ous varieties of strawberries uj^on his side hill, among which I 
recognized the Bidwell, SharjDless, and other familiar varieties. 
The fruit was of an astonishing size and grew in great abundance, 
r "VVliile I live in a strawberry country, and am myself a strawberry 
grower, I cannot remember when I have seen so fine a disjilay of 
strawberries growing upon the vines as I saw here. There were, 
however, evidences of high culture. A gentleman by my side 
echoed my sentiments by remarking that we could increase the size 
of fruits in our own gardens by such thorough cultivation as this. 
I regretted that Mr. Cole did not have a plot of strawberries grow- 
ing near by which did not receive any benefit from his method of 
irrigation, for then we could have compared results. Adjoining 
the strawberries were growing different kinds of garden crops, 
also currants, raspberries, blackberries, potatoes and a few fruit 
trees. At one point, where the ground was terraced, I noticed, 
growing on the ragged edge a row of onions. I called attention 
to the fact that while these onions were on the very brink, there 
was no indication of their being disturbed by washing of the soil, 
as might have been expected in such a position. In fact every- 
thing showed that in no place had the rainfall run down the sur- 
face as ordinarilv, to the detriment of anvthing growing thereon 



70 THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 

as the water j^assed into the drains underlying." * * * 

Mr. Green's article covers a full column and a half of The Tri- 
bune, and is remarkably conservative in tone from first to last, 
written by a manifestly level-headed and even-handed man, but 
one nevertheless coming wholly unprepared for what he saw. 
Himself an extensive gardener, fruit grower and nursery man at 
Rochester, the Flower City, where gardens and gardening form a 
distinguishing feature of business, and coming, as he did, out of 
that far-famed delta of the Genesee, (which is ordinarily exempt 
from frost, a fortnight earlier in Spring, and three or four weeks 
later in Autumn than other sections of western New York) to find 
at Wellsville near the source of the Genesee River, the climate of 
Delaware and Maryland, not to say of the Virginias, growing fruits 
and vegetables superior in flavor, and immeasurably prolific of yield. « 
Fair minded and just, his summing up as follows need not be won- 
dered at. 

" The correspondent of The Tribune was asked on every hand, 
" What do you think of this ' New Agriculture ? ' " I reply frankly 
that, while I consider that Mr. Cole claims too much, there ajDpears 
to be in it much that is novel and useful. Others who try similar 
experiments in different soils and locations may not be able to ob- 
tain such results. I do not doiibt that an acre of ground can be 
made to yield an increased harvest by the new method, but whether 
it is a paying investment is another question, and would dejDend 
upon circumstances. For high gardening, near large cities, where 
the subsoil is tenacious, it would doubtless be j^rofitable. For gen- 
eral field culture of common farm crops, I should hesitate to recom- 
mend it until I had investigated further, owing to the great ex- 
pense to be incurred." 

That the editors of The 2'ribune were unprepared for even so fav- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 71 

orable a report as this, is evidenced by the following-, appearing on 
the editorial j^age of that paper at date of July 14th. 

" Those who have read that most suggestive of all American 
books on agriculture, " "What I Know of Farming," — will be inter- 
ested in the account in another column which Mr. Charles A. Green, 
the well-known horticulturist and nurseryman of Rochester, gives 
of some novel experiments in irrigation by Mr. Cole, of "VVellsville. 
The foundation of the new agriculture is subterranean irrigation 
by a system of drains, which being kej)t sujjplied with water, in 
turn afford a permanent supply of moisture ready to be taken up 
by the plant growth above as fast as it is needed. There are other 
principles involved, but this is the main one, and Mr. Cole claims 
that his system will produce ten tons of hay to the acre, or 300 
bushels of strawberries, etc., and thus yield a profitable return on 
the money expended. It will be noted that while Mr. Green does 
not indorse these claims he thinks that the result of the experi- 
ment at "VVellsville are remarkable and worthy of attention." 

Eminent among editors who came on this day was Mr. R. S. 
Lewis of the Progressive Batavian, published at Batavia, Genesee 
County, N. Y., from whose report it woiild be impossible to make 
extracts and do justice either to its author or to the j)ublic, and 
therefore we copy nearly all of it. 

" Mr. Cole's farm consists of five acres of what was, four years 
ago, and a part of which is now, a sterile hillside of clayey soil so 
poor as to grudgingly yield sujficient substance to grow field daisies. 
It is as steep as the steepest part of Burleigh hill Pavillion, the' 
Bethany hill just east of the Centre, or any other hill in Genesee 
county of which we have any knowledge ; and as to its ever be- 
coming profitably productive, we don't believe there is a foot of 
land in all our county which was equally unpromising. Some 
thirty j'ears ago Mr. Cole conceived the idea that plant life might 



72 THE NEV.- AGRICULTURE. 

be greatly, almost immeasurably, stimulated by underground irri- 
gation. He had neither time nor opportunity then to perfect and 
test his thought, but it continued to simmer through him and to 
recall itself to his attention again and again as the years passed on. 

"His conviction on the matter was greatly strengthened and stim- 
ulated by a conversation with Mr. Horace Greeley, in which that 
gentleman told him what he had heard of the wondrous produc- 
tiveness near Los Angeles, California, where vegetation was fed by 
a subterranean river. Mr. Cole had thought and investigated un- 
til he had no doubt about the fact of a theory, but how to accom- 
plish the irrigatioji — how to make his thought jDractical, was the 
question, 

" At last how to do it dawned suddenly upon him — the mists of 
questionings and doubts were gone — his dream of the years had 
materialized^ — his vision was clear. AMiere could he better test 
and demonstrate the truth and value of his discovery than on his 
own sterile, impromising hillside. Along its eastern front runs a 
highway with wayside gutter adjoining his land. Parallel with 
this, and some forty to fifty feet apart, and across about half his 
land to its highest boundary, he caused a series of trenches about 
two and a half feet wide by four and a half to five feet deep to be 
dug, and filled to within eighteen inches of the surface with coarse 
large stone covered with loose flat stone, for subterranean water 
reservoirs. These reservoirs were connected by numerous shallow 
and smaller trenches j^artially filled with small stones at about eigh- 
teen inches from the surface and designed to carry off from trench 
to trench all surplus water. After the laying of the stone all the 
trenches, little and big, are covered with straw or litter of any 
kind, as in ordinary ditching, and then covered with dirt. Thus 
each large trench is a reservoir capable of holding from three to 
three and a half feet of water through its entire length before it 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 73 

reaches the height where carried off by the cross trenches. The 
water from the rains and melting snows instead of j^assing off in 
surface rills and channels is caught in these reservoirs and slowly 
and continuously filters through the soil from trench to trench — 
sweats through it, so to speak — rendering it porous, pliable, spongy 
— always sufficiently damp to feed and stimulate vegetation to the 
highest degree, and yet always sufficiently dry to be in the best 
possible order for cultivation. 

" On a part of his j^lantation which Mr. Cole has thus treated he 
last year cut three crops of timothy grass, each crop being in the 
head when cut. Most of the trenched ground is now planted with 
blackberry and raspberry bushes and strawberry vines. What the 
berry bushes will do yet is only conjectural — they have a strong, 
healthy, prominent development — but the strawberry vines — it is 
utterly impossible to approj^riately describe their wonderous 
wealth of productiveness. The vines are literally loaded with ber- 
ries and their average size is marvelous. Many were readily 
found which measured nearly eight inches in circumference, and 
there were no small berries. Mr. Cole 2:)roudly said : ' I have ber- 
ries this year as big as jDeaches,' and, he confidently added, ' I will 
grow them next year as large as apples.' He claimed he would 
this year harvest more Inishels of strawberries from his vines than 
any farmer would grow biishels of potatoes from the same area of 
ground. He said the cost of joutting his ground in its present 
condition of reservoirs and consequent jjroductiveness was about 
$500 per acre, and he expected to realize $1,200 from his strawberry 
crop alone this year. 

" One or tAvo facts more are worthy of mention, 1st — Wliile the 
ground all around this jilot Avas last winter frozen several feet deep, 
this ground w^as not frozen — the j^lants greAV the Avinter through. 
2d — One of the delugy rains so prevelant this season poured down 



74 THE KEW AGRICULTURE. 

upon Wellsville a few days since, and while tlie laillsides all around 
were furrowed and ditched by the running waters, this plot was 
not washed in the least — the torrents sank into its jDorous soil, were 
caught in its reservoirs and the surplus passed off through its 
transverse trenches without in the least disturbing its surface or 
the croi^s grown thereon. 

" Brother Cole claims that by his ' New Agriculture' every kind 
of vegetable production can be increased from five to ten fold, — 
that by it men could realize more from five or ten acres, and with 
less labor too, than they now do from farms of hundreds of acres — 
that this fact will become rapidly apparent — that ' The New Agri- 
culture, something the Avorld has never seen or realized before 
has been discovered and will j^revail.' If it shall in any measure 
fulfill its early promise as shown in Mr. Cole's small experiment 
then it ought to and will j^revail. Some wise man has remarked, 
' He who causes two blades of grass to grow where only one grew 
before, is a benefactor of his race' or words to that effect, and for 
what his new idea has already established we have no hesitation in 
saying Mr. Cole is entitled to honor and esteem as a public bene- 
factor. His experiment has demonstrated that his new idea has at 
least great practical value for aiDplication to every hillside and 
slope, if not for valley and plain. He claims that it may be worked 
with wondrous success even on what we call level lands. The cen- 
tral idea of ' The New Agriculture' is the capturing and utilizing by 
subterranean reservoirs and irrigation, of all the dews, rains and 
snows for plant growth, and Mr. Cole shows in his side hill experi- 
ment that the filtration of the water through the hardest, toughest, 
most unpromising soil, renders it pliable and most wonderfully 
fertile and j)Toductive." 

"We must not omit the report made by Mr. James McCann, 
President, and Mr. George W. Hoffman, ex-President of the Par- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 75 

mer's Club of Elmira. This Avas presented at a meeting of the 
Club on July 11th, 1885, and aj)peared in The Husbandman under 
head of "The New Agriculture:" 

"Nearly a year ago the Club resolved to make careful inspection 
of Hon. A. N. Cole's new system of irrigation, and what has come 
to be regarded as ' The New Agriculture ' but favorable opportu- 
nity was not found until Tuesday, July 7tli, a day ajDpointed by Mr. 
Cole, whose invitation to attend for the purpose of examining his 
work and its results had been received by the Club some days be- 
fore. Several members who had an earnest desire to accept the 
invitation found themselves hindered by prior engagements, but 
President McCann and ex-President Hoffman went as the direct 
representatives of the Club and were acconiiDanied by several 
gentlemen more or less nearly related to the institution that gladly 
accepted them as its representatives. There was much desire on 
the part of those who attended this meeting to hear the account, 
and among the number were several that came in after the narra- 
tion of incidents and observations had been partly made, among 
them Professor Lazenby, of the Ohio Agricultural College, Hon. 
J. S. Van Duser, an old-time member of the Club, Thomas Flood, 
of the city, and G. F. SjDinney, of the New York Times. Mr. Hoff- 
man's report ran substantially as follows: 

" My observations were made mainly with the purpose of attain- 
ing clear understanding of the methods by which Mr. Cole had 
l^roduced what must certainly be regarded as surprising results. 
But I made no notes, and must therefore rely ui^on memory in my 
endeavor to convey to you ideas that impressed me. Notwith- 
standing what I had read descriptive of the ' The New Agriculture,' 
and Mr. Cole's account given to the Club some months ago, I had 
not clear views of his method, and I was therefore quite desirous 
of making the visit with the purpose of inspecting every part of 



76 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

the work and its results. I found the situation a slope on the east- 
ern face of a ridge, ascending, I judge, four feet in the first hun- 
dred. Along this slope trenches were cut on a horizontal line 
or course, deviating from a straight line when necessary to suit the 
inequalities of surface, the bottom of the trench having a horizon- 
tal run along the face of the slope. The first trench, the pattern 
after which all other trenches are constructed, is four feet deep 
and two feet wide, filled with stones to within fifteen inches of the 
surface, then covered with flat stones and refuse stuff, — grass, 
weeds, anything to serve as a sort of filter holding the soil placed 
above to the natural line of the surface, leaving water to drop into 
the trench and be held for the uses designed. The filling, I was 
informed, was first by round or shapeless stones gathered from the 
field, leaving interstices that serve in their aggregate as a recepta- 
cle for whatever water may find entrance, princijDally from rains 
and melting snows and any springs that may be tapj^ed. It will 
be seen that the stone filling serves, as the j^rincipal j^urpose, to 
support the superincumbent earth and the flat stones j)laced on 
the top as a kind of cover to prevent the loose soil from dropping 
into the receptacle below. The horizontal ditches are constructed 
at suitable distances along the slope, the series intended to hold 
the surplus of rains so that none flows over the surface. Between 
these horizontal trenches there are sub-trenches, leading from one 
of the main excavations to another. These cross-ditches have less 
dejDth but otherwise are constructed in the same manner as the 
main trenches, their jjurpose to convey surplus of water from an 
upper to a lower trench, and so equalize the supply. They are 
filled in the same manner and covered with fifteen inches of earth. 
The soil is what I may call clay-loam, with stones intermixed, but 
no ajDpearance of sand, the close, compact subsoil not easily pene- 
trated. I refer to condition before treatment, and of this I had 







PLUM, NATURAL SIZE. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 77 

fair opportunity to observe in the adjoining land not yet brought 
under the new system, also in an excavation in progress where 
workmen had to strike heavy blows with their picks to penetrate 
the hard clay. The land treated by Mr. Cole was originally part 
of a considerable tract that was regarded as extremely poor, and 
my observations led me to conclude that the estimate was just. 
The most striking effect of the treatment, as it seemed to me, was 
entire change of character, particularly mechanical condition, due, 
in large part, no doubt, to the very thorough manipulation, for it 
is not comprised in the trenching alone. The entii'e area is dug 
up to the depth of fifteen inches, and all stones of any considerable 
size, even down to an inch in diameter, removed, thus changing 
mechanical conditions to such a degree that one is impressed with 
the great difference between the land treated and that immediately 
adjoining. You step uj)on the trenched land anywhere and you 
find the soil yields to pressure of the feet, not a spot where it is 
not soft and yielding; but on the land adjoining it is hard and the 
foot makes no impression whatever. Another change is in color. 
That hard, forbidding clay has taken the appearance of muck, or, 
at least, the color of muck and loam intermixed. Its texture is 
aptly described by Mr. Cole, who calls it an earth sponge. 

" We were called to examine strawberries from plants set, as we 
were informed, last October, and I am free to say that the plat was 
a very interesting object inviting study. There was a full crop of 
most remarkable berries — remarkable in size, color and quality. I 
cannot undertake to estimate the yield, but it was certainly very 
large. I called Mr. McCann's attention to one plant of older set- 
ting that had ripe berries and others in the various stages of growth, 
enough, I thought, to fill my hat if they could be picked at one 
time. One peculiarity of these berries was the absence of what 
may be termed a core, or hard stem in the middle ; they were juicy 



78 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

and tender all the way through. As to the foliage, I can only say 
that I never saw anything like it. I measin-ed a leaf that was five 
and one-half inches across, and I plucked a broader one, with Mr. 
Cole's consent, and brought it home. 

" I must say that the changes wrought in the soil and its jjro- 
ducts constituted a great surprise. 

" As to the soil, I could judge by comparison with land that 
must have been originally of the same character. It now lies 
hard and compact adjoining the renovated earth, that under Mr. 
Cole's treatment has certainly become very fertile, whether with 
manure in abundant supply, or not, I am not prej^ared to say. 
The soil under treatment has the aj^pearance of being thoroughly 
enriched with manure ; then there is the Avater suj^jDly for the 
roots to reach and use, obviating drought ai:)i3arently ; and besides, 
there is entire freedom from w^ashing. Heavy shovv^ers had fallen 
in the week before our arrival, but there was not the slightest ap- 
pearance of washing, and Mr. Cole informed us that all danger 
from washing was obviated ; a statement which I can accept as 
true, for he has provided reservoirs into which all surplus of water 
must pass, and if there is too much the overflow runs from one to 
another reservoir. Besides all this the earth worked to fine tilth 
fifteen inches deep serves as a sponge to take in a great deal of 
moisture and retain it for the use of j^lants. Ten days before our 
visit there was a rainfall of three inches, as reported, and no ap- 
pearance of washing. 

" Of course I can not give you such description as will inform 
you fully, because one must see what has been done and its results 
to have complete understanding of the system. I believe there is 
a great deal of advantage in Mr. Cole's plan, although I may not 
Avith my one opportunity for inspection have such full faith as he 
possesses, for I cannot have such fvill knowledge as he has obtained 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 79 

in the practical work that has engaged his thought for years. 
Still, when I see a croj) of strawberries much larger than I have 
ever seen under other conditions, no dead leaves, no runners, 
growth most luxuriant and long succession in bearing, I must say 
that results are convincing. There were other proofs about which 
I am not so well prepared to judge. For instance, an apple tree 
standing in this improved land was reported Avorthless, its fruit 
gnarled and valueless before the land was trenched, now bearing 
largely and the fruit of fine quality. Of course I cannot say how 
much difference there is between the tree as it now appears and as 
it was before the land was improved. I observed, however, a young 
tree, the trunk five or six inches in diameter perhaps, its growth 
most vigorous, the limbs smooth as if recently washed with lye 
foliage fresh, full and green. But on inquiry I learned that it had 
only ordinary treatment ; the limbs had not been washed, and its 
vigorous growth Avas attributed to the system of trenching and 
irrigating that increased the yield of strawberry plants and the 
size of fruit, the effect being visible in growth of all kinds. There 
were no weeds on the ground occupied by strawberries — it was 
absolutely clean. 

" Prof. Lazenby. There are three or four questions that I would 
like to ask. "What distance apart are the cross ditches ? 

" Ct. "NV. Hoffman. I can not say precisely. I asked Mr. Cole, 
and he told me three or four rods, leaving me to infer that he had 
exercised no care to jjlace the cross ditches at regular intervals. 
You will understand that these cross ditches tap the main trench 
two feet above the bottom, that they are but two feet deep and 
serve only the purpose of drawing off surplus water, or, in other 
words, equalizing water in the trenches. 

" Prof. Lazenby. What is done with the subsoil taken from the 
main trenches ? Is it carted away ? 



80 THE NEW AGRICULTUKE, 

" G. W. HoFFiiAN. It is all used on the land, intermixed, I sup- 
pose, v.ith the surface soil during the working, as I have said, to 
the depth of fifteen inches. "We saw workmen engaged in excavat- 
ing a trench, and the compact clay taken from the bottom was dis- 
tributed over the land to be brought into cultivation. The work- 
men said that the hard clay would become friable upon exposure, 
and j)ointed to jDlaces where it had been thrown where it had be- 
come soft and yielding. The first working of ground below that 
trench, we were told, was last May, but the workmen said they 
' would go over it again soon and take out such stones as had been 
overlooked in the first picking. 

" Prof. Lazenby. Still another question — "Were those strawberry 
plants that were put out last October potted j^revioiis to placing 
them in the ground ? 

"G. W. Hoffman. I do not know that they were ; I supjDOse 
they "were not. They were not as prolific as the older vines. 

" President McCann. We were informed that the strawberry 
leaves kept green all winter, and that the ground was almost free 
from frost during the coldest weather. Mr. Cole told us that frost 
rarely i^eiietrated more than an inch or two, while ground not 
treated was frozen fully three feet deep. Of course, if the soil re- 
mains open and there is snow protection strawberry plants may 
keep fresh and green through winter. 

" G. "W. Hoffman. There is certainly very great change produced 
by the new system. How much may be credited to irrigation, how 
much to very thorough working, and how much to manure, I can 
not decide. Mr. Cole spoke very highly of forest leaves as a 
mulch or manure, and, I think, he has made very free use of them. 
Speaking of leaves, he said : ' They are the very best manure God 
ever siipplied for agricultural use.' 

" Now, as to this system of irrigation, there may be a great deal 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 81 

in it I have not seen, although I have seen much to cause surprise. 
Water flowing out below came clear, no discoloration, and I was 
told that it was of good drinking quality. Mr. Cole claims that the 
land will become loose and friable as deep as the trenches. Per- 
haps this is not overstated. I do not care to speak of claims, nor 
of opinions not well supported. There is enough in the new sys- 
tem to interest investigators. It is costly. We were informed that 
the work done by Mr. Cole had cost $500 an acre, but the improve- 
ment may be great enough to justify that outlay. I suppose that 
on an acre set to strawberries there may be 11,000 or 12,000 j)lants. 
Now if each one of these produces a quart, the product will give 
jaretty fair interest on $5,000. It must be understood that siTch re- 
markable berries as are j)roduced under this system will sell for 
more than ordinary prices. I want to make another visit later in 
the season, when we have here the usual summer drought. If I 
find everything fresh without appearance of drought on Mr. Cole's 
improved land, I shall regard it as another strong proof of merit in 
his system." 

In conclusion of our introductory or first chapter we beg leave 
to answer the question asked by Prof. Lazenby by saying that 
we never pot plants, but grow them, taking pains to catch them in 
with a trowel, giving them good root. This is done in August and 
September, and our j)lants are removed with the trowel quite as 
often as with the spade, leaving an abundance of earth upon the 
roots, and they grow right along, though set as late as October, or 
even November. They grow indeed beneath the snows, and make 
deep roots in winter. 



CHAPTER II. 



CIRCULATION OF WATER ON LAND THE WONDERFUL MESILLA. 



To Dr. J. H. Vincent, of Plainfield, N. J., the world is indebted 
for a system of education reaching the hearthstones and homes of 
thousands of families all over our goodly land. Chief of these, in 
form of school or college, is the Chautauqua Literary and Scien- 
tific Circle. The organ of this institution is The Ghautauquan, pub- 
lished at Meadville, Pennsylvania, Theodore L. Flood, D. D., 
Editor. From the November number of 1883 we copy an article 
in which, if carefully read and studied, will be found an amount 
of information which cannot be overestimated in its value to 
the farming class. Here can be learned the ways of the waters 
as run by nature's laws, over, through and under the soil. We 
give this remarkable article in full, for were we to search the 
literature of the soil to exhaustion, we could not find in so compre- 
hensive and compact a form, a comj^end upon which to base the 
text of this volume. 

However, before transcribing it, we are equally bound to accord 
to Mr. Henry Stewart, civil and mining Engineer, member of 
the Civil Engineers' Club of the North-west and associate Editor of 
the American Agriculturist, the credit of having written, about tw^o 
years ago, a work on the subject of irrigation from which copious 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 83 

extracts will be fouud on future pages of our book. Following in 
the footsteps of progressive exj^eriences beginning, for aught we 
know, when the deluge in which irrigation was made so general 
as to drive Noah and his family to seek refuge in the Ark, the 
author of the volume referred to, " Irrigation for the Farm, Gar- 
den and Orchard," confines himself to the subject of apjilying the 
waters to the surface of lands, merest mention being made of 
underground or subterranean methods. Had we the satisfaction 
of knowing that the farmers and gardeners, the fathers, mothers, 
sons and daughters of America generally, taking an interest in 
that most delightful of all pursuits, the one of growing grasses, 
grains, fruits, flowers, trees and plants in their varied forms, had 
read Mr. Stewart's book we should omit much of quotation herein- 
after made. It is so meritorious a work that we do not hesitate to 
pronounce it an invaluable adjunct to our own, and would advise 
every reader of " Our New Agriculture," to couple therewith the 
study of Mr, Stewart's "Irrigation for the Farm, Garden and 
Orchard." "VVe now give the article in full from the Chautauquan, 
under the caption of "The Circulation of Water on the Land." 

" Although air is continually evaporating water from the surface 
of the earth, and continually restoring it again by condensation, 
yet, on the whole and in the course of years, there seems to be no 
sensible gain or loss of water in our seas, lakes, and rivers; so 
that the two processes of evaporation and condensation balance 
each other, 

" It is evident, however, that the moisture iDrecijaitated at any 
moment from the air is not at once evaporated again. The disap- 
pearance of the water is due in jDart to evaporation, but only in 
part, A great deal of it goes out of sight in other ways. 

" The rain which falls upon the sea, is the largest part of the 
whole rainfall of the globe, because the surface of the sea is about 



81 THE XEW AyPJCULTUUE. 

three times greater than that of the land. All this rain gradually 
mingles with the salt water, and can then be no longer recognized. 
It thus heli^s to make wp for the loss which the sea is always suf- 
fering by evaporation, for the sea is the great evaporating sur- 
face whence most of the vapor of the atmosphere is derived. 

" On the other hand, the total amount of rain which falls upon 
the land of the globe must be enormous. It has been estimated, 
for example, that about sixty-eight cubic miles of water annually 
descend as rain even ujion the surface of the British Isles, and 
there are many much more rainy regions. If you inquire about 
this rain which falls ujDon the land, you will find that it does not 
at once disappear, but begins another kind of circulation. Watch 
what happens during a shower of rain. If the shower is heavy, 
you will notice little runs of muddy water coursing down the 
streets or roads, or flowing out of the ridges of the fields. Follow 
one of the runs. It leads into some drain or brook, that into some 
larger stream, the stream into a river; and the river, if you follow 
it far enough, will bring you to the sea. Now think of all the 
brooks and rivers of the world, where this kind of transport of 
Avater is going on, and you will at once see how vast must be the 
part of the rain which flows off the land into the ocean. 

" But does the wiiole of the rain flow off at once into the sea in 
this way ? A good deal of the rain which falls ujDon the land 
must sink imderground and gather there. You may think that 
surely the water which disappears in that way must be finally 
withdrawn from the general circulation which we have been trac- 
ing. AVhen it sinks below the surface, how can it over get up to 
the surface again? 

" Yet, if you consider for a little, jon will be convinced that what- 
ever becomes of it underneath, it can not be lost. If all the rain 
which sinks into the ground be forever removed from the surface 



THE NEW AGKICULTUKE. 85 

circulation, you will at once see that the quantity of water upon 
the earth's surface must be constantly and visibly diminishing. 
But no such changes, so far as can be seen, are really taking 
place. In spite of the rain which disappears into the ground, the 
circulation of water between the air, the land, and the sea contin- 
ues without perceptible diminution. 

"You are driven to conclude, therefore, that there must be some 
means whereby the water underground is brought back to the 
surface. This is done by springs, which gush out of the earth, 
and bring uj) water to feed the brooks and rivers, whereby it is 
borne into the sea. Here, then, are two distinct courses Avhich 
the rainfall takes — one below ground, and one above. It will be 
most convenient to follow the underground portion first. 

" A little attention to the soils and rocks which form the surface 
of a country is enough to show that they differ greatly from each 
other in hardness, and in texture or grain. Some are quite loose 
and porous, others are tough and close-grained. They consequent- 
ly differ much in the quantity of water they allow to j)as8 through 
them. A bed of sand, for example, is jservious ; that is, will let 
water sink through it freely, because the little grains of sand lie 
loosely together, touching each other only at some points so as to 
leave empty spaces between. The water readily finds its way in 
among these empty spaces. In fact, the sand bed may become a 
kind of sponge, quite saturated with the water which has filtered 
down from the surface. A bed of clay on the other hand, is im- 
pervious; it is made up of very small particles fitting closely to 
each other, and therefore offering resistance to the passage of 
water, which, unable to sink through it from above on the way 
down, or from below on the way up to the surface again, is kept in 
by the clay, and forced to find another line of escape. 

" Sandy soils are dry because rain at once sinks through them; 



86 THE NEW AGRICULTUKE. 

clay soils are wet because they retain the water, and prevent it 
from fi'eely descending into the earth. 

" The rocks beneath besides being in many cases porous in their 
texture, such as sandstone, are all more or less traversed with 
cracks; sometimes mere lines, like those of a cracked window-pane, 
but sometimes wide and open clefts and tunnels. These numerous 
channels serve as passages for the underground water. Hence, al- 
though a rock may be so hard and close-grained that water does 
not soak through it, yet if that rock is plentifully supplied with 
these cracks it may allow a large quantity of water to pass through. 
Limestone, for example, is a very hard rock, through the grains of 
which water can make but little wa}'; yet it is so full of cracks or 
"joints," as they are called, and these joints are often so wide, that 
they give passage to a great deal of water. 

" In hilly districts, where the surface of the ground has not been 
brought under the plow, you will notice that many places are 
marshy and wet, even when the weather has been long dry. The 
soil everywhere around has been j^erhaps baked quite hard by the 
sun; but these places remain still wet, in sj)ite of the heat. AMience 
do they get their water ? Plainly not directly from the air, since 
in that case the rest of the ground would also be damp. They get 
it not from above, but from below. It is oozing out of the ground; 
and it is this constant outcome of water from below, which keeps 
the ground wet and marshy. In other places you will observe that 
the water does not merely soak through the ground, but gives rise 
to a little run of clear water. If you follow such a run up to its 
source, you will see that it comes gushing out of the ground as a 
spring. 

"Springs are the natural outlets for the underground waters. 
But, you ask, why should this water have any outlets, and what 
makes it rise to the surface ? Let us suppose that a flat layer of 



THE ^EW AGlilCULTUKE. 87 

some impervious rock like clay, uuderlies another layer of a j^orous 
material, like saucl. TLie rain which falls on the surface of the 
ground, and sinks through the uj^per bed, will be arrested by the 
lower one, and made either to gather there, or find its escape along 
the surface of that lower bed. If a hollow or valley should have 
its bottom below the level of the line along which the water flows, 
springs will gush out along the sides of the valley. The line of es- 
caj^e may be either the junction between two different kinds of 
rock, or some of the numerous joints already referred to. What- 
ever it be, the water cannot helj^ flowing onward and downward, as 
long as there is any jDassage along which it can find its way; and 
the rocks underneath are so full of cracks, that it has no difficulty 
in doing so. 

" But it must happen that a great deal of the underground 
water descends far below the level of the valleys, and even below 
the level of the sea. And yet, though it should descend for several 
miles, it comes at last to the surface again. To realize clearly how 
this takes jjlace, let us follow a i^articular drop of water from the 
time it sinks into the earth as rain, to the time when, after a long- 
journey up and down in the bowels of the earth, it once more 
reaches the surface. It soaks through the soil together with other 
droits, and joins some feeble trickle, or some other ample flow of 
Avater, which works its way through crevices and tunnels of the 
rocks. It sinks in this way to perhaps a depth of several thousand 
feet until it reaches some strata through which it cannot readily 
make further way. Unable to work its way downward, the pent- 
up water must try to find escape in some other direction. By the 
pressure from above it is driven through other cracks and pass- 
ages, winding up and down until at last it comes to the surface 
again. It breaks out there as a gushing spring. 

" Kain is water nearly in a state of j)urity. After journeying up 



88 THE ^"E^v agkicultuee. 

and down underground it conies out again in springs, always 
more or less mingled Avitli other materials, Avliieh it gets from 
the rocks through which it travels. They are not visible to the 
eye, for they are held in Avhat is called chemical solution. "When 
you put a few grains of salt or sugar upon a plate, and pour 
water over them, they are dissolved in the water and disappear. 
They enter into union with the water. You can not see them, 
but you can still recognize their jDresence by the taste which 
they give to the water which holds them in solution. So water, 
sinking from the soil downward, dissolves a little of the sub- 
stance of the subterranean rocks, and carries this dissolved ma- 
terial up to the surface of the ground. One of the important in- 
gredients in the air is carbonic acid gas, and this substance 
is both abstracted from and supplied to the air by plants and 
animals. In descending through the atmosphere rain absorbs 
a little air. As ingredients of the air, a little carbonic acid gas 
particles of dust and soot, noxious vapors, minute organisms, 
and other substances floating in the air, are caught up by the 
descending rain, which in this way washes the air, and tends 
to keep it much more wholesome than it would otherwise be. 

" But rain not merely j^icks up impurities from the air, it gets a 
large addition when it reaches the soil. 

" Armed with the carbonic acid which it gets from the air, and 
with the larger quantity which it abstracts from the soil, rainwater 
is prepared to attack rocks, and to eat into them in a way which 
pure water could not do. 

"Water containing carbonic acid has a remarkable effect on 
many rocks, even on some of the very hardest. It dissolves 
more or less of their substance, and removes it. "When it falls, 
for instance, on chalk or limestone, it almost entirely dissolves 
and carries away the rock in solution, though still remaining 



THE NEW A(iRICULTUEE. 89 

clear and limpid. In countries where chalk or limestone is an 
abundant rock, this action of water is sometimes singularly 
shown in the way in which the surface of the ground is worn 
into hollows. In such districts, too, the springs are always hard; 
that is, they contain much mineral matter in solution, whereas 
rainwater and springs which contain little impurity are termed 
soft. 

" When a stone building has stood for a few hundred years, the 
smoothly-dressed face which its walls received from the mason is 
usually gone. Again, in the burying- ground surrounding a ven- 
erable church you see the tombstones more and more mouldered 
the older they are. This crumbling away of hard stone with the 
lapse of time is a common familiar fact to you. But have you ever 
wondered why it should be so ? What makes the stone decay, and 
what purpose is served by the jDrocess ? 

" If it seem strange to you to be told that the surface of the 
earth is crumbling away, you should take every opportunity of 
verifying the statement. Examine your own district. You will 
find proofs that, in spite of their apparent steadfastness, even the 
hardest stones are really crumbling down. In short, wherever 
rocks are exposed to the air they are liable to decay. Now let us 
see how this change is brought about. 

" First of all we must return for a moment to the action of car- 
bonic acid, which has been already described. You remember 
that rainwater abstracts a little carbonic acid from the air, and 
that, when it sinks under the earth, it is enabled by means of the 
acid to eat away some parts of the rocks beneath. The same action 
takes place with the rain, which rests uj^on or flows over the sur- 
face of the ground. The rainwater dissolves out little by little 
such portions of the rocks as it can remove. In the case of some 
rocks, such as limestone, the whole or almost the whole, of the 



90 THE NEW AGKICULTURE. 

:substance of the rock is carried away in solution. In other kinds, 
the portion dissolved is the cementing material -svhereby the mass 
of the rock was hound together; so that when it is taken away, 
the rock crumbles into mere earth or sand, which is readily washed 
away by the rain. Hence one of the causes of the mouldering of 
stone is the action of the carbonic acid taken up by the rain. 

" In the second place, the oxygen of the jDortion of air contained 
in rainwater helj)s to decompose rocks. AVhen a piece of iron has 
been exposed for a time to the weather, in a damp climate, it rusts. 
This rust is a compound substance, formed by the union of oxygen 
' with iron. What happens to an iron railing or a steel knife, haj)- 
pens also, though not so quickly nor so strongly, to many rocks. 
They, too, rust by absorbing oxygen. A crust of corroded rock 
iorms on their surface, and when it is knocked off by the rain, a 
iresh layer of rock is reached by the ever-present and active oxy- 
gen. 

" In the third jilace the surface of many j^arts of the world is 
TQiade to crumble down by means of frost. Sometimes during 
ivinter, when the cold gets very keen, i^ipes full of water burst, 
and jugs filled with water crack from toj) to bottom. The reason of 
this lies in the fact that water expands in freezing. Ice requires 
more space than the water would if it remained fluid. When ice 
forms within a confined space, it exerts a great pressure on the 
sides of the vessel, or cavity, which contains it. If these sides are 
not strong enough to bear the strain to which they are put, they 
must yield, and therefore they crack. 

"You have learned hoAv easily rain finds its way through soil. 
Even the hardest roots are more or less 2:»orous, and take in some 
water. Hence, when winter comes the ground is full of moisture; 
not in the soil merely, but in the rocks. And so, as frost sets in, 
this pervading moisture freezes. Now, precisely the same kind of 



THE NEW AGKICULTUUK. 91 

action takes j^lace with each particle of water, as in the case of the 
water in the burst water-pipe or the cracked jar. It does not mat- 
ter whether the water is collected into some hole or crevice, or is 
diffused between the grains of the rocks and the soil. When it 
freezes it exjjands, and in so doing tries to push asunder the walls 
between which it is confined. 

" Water freezes not onl}^ between the component grains, but in 
the numerous crevices or joints, as they are called, by which rocks 
are traversed. You have, perhaps noticed, that on the face of a 
cliff, or in a quarry, the rock is cut through by lines running more 
or less in an uiDright direction, and that by means of these lines 
the rock is split up by nature, and can be divided by the quarry- 
men into large four-sided blocks or pillars. These lines, or joints, 
have been already referred to as passages for water in descending 
from the surface. You can understand that only a very little water 
may be admitted at a time into a joint. But by degrees the joint 
widens a little, and allows more water to enter. Every time the 
Avater freezes it tries hard to push asunder the two sides of the 
joint. After many winters, it is at last able to separate them a 
little; then more water enters, and more force is exerted in freez- 
ing, until at last the block of rock traversed by the joint is com- 
23letely split uj). When this takes j^lace along the face of a cliff, 
one of the loosened parts may fall and actually roll do\vn to the 
bottom of the precipice. 

"In addition to carbonic acid, oxygen and frost, there are still 
other influences at work by which the surface of the earth is made 
to crumble. For example, when, during the day, rocks are highly 
heated by strong sunshine, and then during night are rapidly 
cooled by radiation, the alternate exjDansion and contraction caused 
by the extremes of temperature loosen the j^articles of the stone, 



92 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

causing them to crumble away, or even making successive crusts 
of the stone fall off. 

" Again, rocks which are at one time well soaked with rain, 
and at another time are liable to be dried by the sun's rays and by 
wind, are apt to crumble away. If then it be true, as it is, that a 
general wasting of the surface of the land goes on, you may nat- 
urally ask why this should be. Out of the crumbled stones all 
soil is made, and on the formation and renewal of the soil we 
depend for our daily food. 

" Take up a handful of soil from any field or garden, and look 
at it attentively. What is it made of ? You see little pieces of 
crumbling stone, particles of sand and clay, perhaps a few vege- 
table fibers ; and the whole soil has a dark color from the decayed 
remains of plants and animals diffused through it. Now let us 
try to learn how these different materials have been brought to- 
gether. 

" Every drop of rain which falls upon the land helps to alter the 
surface. You have followed the chemical action of rain when it 
dissolves parts of rocks. It is by the constant repetition of the 
process, drop after drop, and shower after shower, for years to- 
gether, that the rocks become so wasted and worn. But the rain 
has also a mechanical action. 

" "Watch what hapjpens when the first pattering drops of a show- 
er begin to fall upon a smooth surface of sand, such as that of a 
beach. Each drop makes a little dent or impression. It thus 
forces aside the grains of sand. On slojDing ground, where the 
drops can run together and flow downward, they are able to push 
or carry the particles of sand or clay along. This is called a 
mechanical action ; while the actual solution of the j^articles, as 
you Avould dissolve sugar or salt, a chemical action. Each drop of 
rain may act in either or both of these ways. 



THE NEW ACiKICULTUKE. 93 

" Now you will readily see how it is that rain does so much in 
the destruction of rocks. It not only dissolves out some parts of 
them, and leaves a crumbling crust on the surface, but it washes 
aAvay this crust, and thereby exposes a fresh surface to decay. 
There is in this way a continual pushing along of powdered stone 
over the earth's surface. Part of this material accumulates in hol- 
lows, and on sloping or level ground ; part is swept into the rivers 
and carried away into the sea. As the mouldering of the surface 
of the land is always going on, there is a constant formation of 
soil. Indeed, if this were not the case, if after a layer of soil had 
been formed wpon the ground, it were to remain there unmoved 
and unrenewed, the i^lants would by degrees take out of it all the 
earthy materials they could, and leave it in a barren or exhausted 
state. But some of it is being slowly carried away by rain, fresh 
23articles from mouldering rocks are being washed over it by the 
same agent, while the rock or subsoil vmderneath is all the while 
decaying into soil. The loose stones, too, are continually crum- 
bling down and making new earth. And thus, day by day, the 
soil is slowly renewed. 

" Plants, also, help to form and renew the soil. They send their 
roots among the grains and joints of the stones, and loosen them 
Their decaying fibers supi)ly most of the carbonic acid by which 
these stones are attacked, and furnish also most of the organic 
matter in the soil. Even the common worms, which you see when 
you dig up a spadeful of earth, are of great service in mixing the 
soil and bringing what lies underneath up to the surface. 

" One part of the rain sinks under the ground, and you have 
traced its j^rogress there until it comes to the surface again. You 
have now to trace, in a similar way, the other portion of the rain- 
fall which flows along the surface in brooks and rivers. 

" You cannot readily meet with a better illustration of this sub- 



94 THE KEW AGRICULTURE. 

ject thau that -whicli is furnished by a gently sloping road during 
a heavy shower of rain. Let us suppose that 3'ou know such a 
road, and that just as the rain is beginning you take up your 
station at some part where the road has a well-marked descent. At 
first you notice that each of the large heavy drops of rain makes 
in the dust, or sand, one of the little dints or rain-prints already 
described. As the shower gets heavier these rain-prints are ef- 
faced, and the road soon streams with water. Now mark in what 
manner the water moves. 

" Looking at the road more narrowly, you remark that it is full 
of little roughnesses — at one place a long rut, at another a pro- 
jecting stone, with many more inequalities which your eye could 
not easily detect when the road was dry, but which the water at 
once discloses. Every little dimjDle and j^rojection affects the flow 
of the water. You see how the raindrops gather together into 
slender streamlets of running water which coui'se along the hol- 
lows, and how the jutting stones and pieces of earth seem to turn 
these streamlets now to one side, and again to another. 

" Toward the top of the sloj^e only feeble runnels of water are to 
be seen, but further down they become fewer in number and at 
the same time, larger in size. They unite as they descend, and the 
larger and swifter streamlets at the foot of the descent are thus 
made up of a great many smaller ones from the higher jDarts of the 
slope. 

" Why does the water run down the Hloi)ing road ? Why do 
rivers flow? Why should they always move constantly in the 
same direction ? They do so for the same reason that a stone falls 
to the ground when it drops out of your hand; because they are 
under the sway of that attraction toward the center of the earth, 
to whicli, as you know, the name of gravity is given. Every drop 
of rain fall.i to the earth because it is drawn downward bv the 



THE NEW AGBICULTUHE. 95 

force of attraction. "When it reaches the ground it is still, as 
much as ever, under the same influence, and it flows downward irt 
the readiest channel it can find. Its fall from the clouds to the 
earth is direct and rapid, its descent from the mountains to the 
sea as part of a stream is often long- and slow; but the cause of the 
movement is the same in either case. The winding to and fro of 
streams, the rush of rapids, the roar of cataracts, the noiseless flow 
of the deep sullen currents, are all proofs how paramount is the 
sway of the law of gravity over the waters of the globe. 

" Drawn down in this way by the action of gravity, all that por- 
tion of the rain which does not sink into the earth must at once 
begin to move downward along the nearest sloj)es, and continue 
flowing until it can get no farther. On the surface of the land 
there are hollows, called lakes, which arrest part of the flowing: 
water just as there are hollows on the road which serve to collect 
some of the rain. But in most cases they let the water run out at 
the lower end as fast as it runs in at the upper, and therefore do 
not serve as permanent resting-places for the water. The streams 
which issue from lakes go on as before, working their way to the 
sea-shore. So thct the course of all streams is a downward one, 
and the sea is a great reservoir into which the water of the land is. 
continually pouring. 

" The brooks and rivers of a country are thus the natural drain^ 
by which the surplus rainfall, not required by the soil, or hy 
springs, is led back again into the sea. When we consider the 
great amount of rain, and the enormous number of brooks in the 
higher part of the country, it seems, at first, hardly possible for all 
these streams to reacli the sea without overflowing the lower 
grounds. But this does not take place, for when two streams unite 
in one, they do not require a channel twice as broad as either of 
their single water courses. On the contrary, such an union gives. 



96 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

rise to a stream which is not so broad as either of the two from 
which it flows. Bvit it becomes swifter and deeper. 

"Let lis return to the illustrations of the roadway and rain. 
Starting from the foot of the slope, you found the streamlets of 
rain getting f mailer and smaller, and when you came to the top 
there were none at all. If, however, you were to descend the road on 
the other side of the ridge, you would probably meet with other 
streamlets coursing down hill in the oj^posite direction. At the 
summit the rain seems to divide, part flowing off to one side, and 
part to the other. 

" In the same way, were you to ascend some river from the sea, 
you would watch it becoming narrower as you traced it inland, and 
branching more and more into tributary streams, and these again 
subdividing into almost endless little brooks. Bi;t take any of the 
branches which unite to form the main stream, and trace it upward. 
You come in the end to the beginning of a little brook, and going 
a little farther, 3'ou reach the summit, down the other side of 
which all the streams are flowing to the opposite quarter. The 
line which separates tAvo sets of streams in this way is called the 
watershed. In England, for example, one series of rivers flows 
into the Atlantic, another into the Korth Sea. If you trace iipon a 
map a line separating all the uj^per streams of one side from those 
of the other, that line will mark the water shed of the country. 
But there is one important point where the illustration of the road 
in rain quite fails. It is only Avhen rain is falling, or immediately 
after a heavy shower, that the rills are seen ujDon the road. "WTien 
the rain ceases the water begins to dry up, till in a short time, the 
road becomes once more firm and dusty. But the brooks and 
rivers do not cease to flow when the rain ceases to fall. In the 
heat of summer, when perhaps there has been no rain for many 
days together, the rivers still roll on, smaller usually than they 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 97 

were iu winter, but still with ample flow. What keeps them full ? 
If you remember what you have already been told about under- 
ground water, you will answer that rivers are fed by springs as 
well as by rains. 

" Though the weather may be rainless, the sj^rings continue to 
give out their supj)lies of water, and these keep the rivers going. 
But if gx-eat drought comes, many of the sj)rings, particularly the 
shallow ones, cease to flow, and the rivers fed by them shrink up 
or get dry altogether. The great rivers of the globe, such as the 
Mississippi, drain such vast territories, that any mere local rain or 
drought makes no sensible difference in their mass of water. 

" In some parts of the world, however, the rivers are larger in 
summer and autumn than they are in winter and spring. The 
Rhine, for instance, begins to rise as the heat of summer increases, 
and to fall as the cold of winter comes on. This haj^pens because 
the river has its source among snowy mountains. Snow melts 
rapidly in summer, and the water which streams from it finds its 
way into the brooks and rivers, which are thereby greatly swollen. 
In winter, on the other hand, the snow remains unmelted ; the 
moisture which falls from the air upon the mountains is chiefly 
snow ; and the cold is such as to freeze the brooks. Hence the 
supplies of water at the source of these rivers are, in winter, 
greatly diminished, and the rivers themselves become proportion- 
ately smaller." 

In conclusion of this chapter, and by way of complete demon- 
stration of the wonderful effects of subsurface irrigation, we quote 
from an article telling a story which, read by the average farmer 
and gardener, cannot fail to j^rove convincing. These surely will 
be glad to know that the way has been found to escape the calam- 
ities to which i:)roducers have been hitherto subjected on account 
of frosts, floods and droughts. Nor will it become necessary to 



98 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

argue tlie case in the newspapers and publish books to convince 
them that to adopt our system is the way and the only way open to 
reliance uj^on a full and j^erfect crop year in and year out. 

Having in previous chapiter made mention of the subterranean 
river in lower California, where, in the midst of the desert is found 
a valley of perpetual green abounding in rarest j)roductions of the 
fruits of the earth, we j)roceed to quote from the article referred to, 
as it api:)eared in Harper's Monthly for April, under head of " Along 
the Rio Grande." 

"It was the wonderful fertility of the far-famed Mesilla which 
led to its jDurchase from Mexico by the United States, under the 
Gadsden treaty, moving the Ijoundary about thirty miles south- 
ward and making American citizens of the Mesilleros. La Mesilla 
is a charming looking place with luxuriant gardens and noble 
trees densely shading its streets. The United States land office for 
the southern j^art of New Mexico is here, and the great excess in 
the number of paid up mining claims over those of the northern 
district at Santa Fe, speaks well for the jirosperity of the mining- 
interest of the section. 

" Contemplating the uncultivated soil, one wonders a\ here the 
Mesilla Valley got its fame for fertility, since it apparently consists 
of barren sand, tufted with i-ank weeds. But an abundance of 
sunshine and water, works wonders here, as is testilied by the rich 
tilled fields, and the many beautiful orchards and vineyards. The 
profits of agriculture here are great. One of the leading' citizens 
of Mesilla, is said to have an annual income of something like ten 
thousand dollars from eighteen acres of vineyard and orchard. 
Several hundred acres of prairie land would hardly accomjilish so 
much. The mildness of the climate is shown by the existence of a 
beautiful large fig tree in the patio of one of the Mesilla houses. 
Considerable Mesilla wine is now taken east bv the railway, and it 



THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 99 

is averred that in the hands of New York dealers, the Mesilla label 
is not infrequently replaced by the legend " Fine Old Sherry'" 

" The onion is a famous j)roduct of the Mesilla Valley ; it grows 
to an enormous size — larger than I have ever seen or heard of 
elsewhere. Onions seven or eight inches in diameter are not 
uncommon. 

" The Acequias madres, the " mother canals " of the irrigating 
system, broad and shaded bv fine trees, are a beautiful feature of 
the scenery. Their water is of a tawny orange, and flows as rap- 
idly as the river. It is genially warm ; delightful for bathing, 
despite the abundant earthy matter held in suspension. The fear 
has been expressed that it would be hardly possible to irrigate the 
Mesilla Valley much more extensively than at present, as the water 
supply is scanty, and in some seasons the river runs dry alto- 
gether ; but it is likely that a system of wells would make the 
water supply ample enough for all demands. 

" In Syria extensive vineyards are irrigated from large wells dug 
for the jDurpose, and some day it may be found profitable to apply 
the same idea to the Mesilla Valley. The water of the river under- 
lies the whole valley bottom. A few feet below the ground at any 
place water is always found in abundance. This accounts for the 
magnificent trees in La Mesilla. Their roots strike down into the 
ground watei", so that in the driest of weather and fiercest of heats, 
they are never athirst, but always proudly lift up their crowns of 
deep emerald. Fruit trees, after a good start, never require irri- 
gation. They grow very large here, and in the enormous peach 
trees one would hardly recognize the short lived tree of the 
North." 



CHAPTER in. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW SYSTEM " HOME ON THE HILLSIDE " THE HOT 

WATER METHOD. 



Those of our readers w^ho have followed us through the intro- 
ductory chapter and especially in that section of it w'here the 
methods of " The New Agriculture " have been described by visit- 
ing farmers and agricultural editors, have not failed to get a suc- 
cint idea of the new system, hence it is un4iecessary for us to give 
in this chapter more than a simple resume of the methods adopted 
by us at our "Home on the Hillside." 

The processes of " The New Agriculture " are so simjDle and 
plain that the average intelligence can not only understand and 
apply it, but having so conformed soils as to set the system in 
ojDeration, he may go to sleep and leave it to run itself, which it 
■will do, year in and year out, winter and siimmer alike, and so j)er- 
fect will be found its work at all times as to result in the utmost 
possibilities of production. 

To conform soils under our system, the ordinary laborer has 
only to move along the hillside with plow, pick and sjiade, sink- 
ing trenches three, four or five feet wide, and as many feet deej) ; 
of sufficient depth, at least, to drop the waters below the frost lines, 
guided by no level other than the water moving along the bottom 



THE NEW AGBICULTURE. 101 

of the trench. Then cast in round stones to the depth of from 
eighteen inches to two feet, and shingle perfectly with flat ones 
when obtainable, and flat tile or timber where stones are not ac- 
cessible, and in the absence of round stone, making use of tile so 
conformed as to secure reservoirs. Then rake out the fine stone 
from excavations for use in the construction of overflow trenches, 
in which, if stone is not procurable, use tile, perforated or those 
leaking at joints, or making use, if disposed, of other suitable ma- 
terial. 

On reaching level or bottom lands during construction, the 
overflow trenches should be so constructed as to secure a continued 
flow through them from each successive reservoir trench. 

Let no reader doubt that, in regions where rains and dews de- 
scend and snows fall, the waters, always in motion so that stagna- 
tion in no case occurs, will not only find their way into the trenches 
filtered and filtering as they flow, but will emerge in form of springs 
or enter streams at their bottoms, with soils of the surface remain- 
ing unwashed and steadily fertilized by the flow of waters through 
them. When the waters come to the cold clay and clod of the sub- 
soil the latter will be aerated, warmed, loosened and rendered soft, 
porous and productive to the dej^th of the deepest trenching, and 
every acre thus treated will be increased in value and that perma- 
nently to a degree vastly lucrative. 

Let us suj^pose that a farmer has a hillside and that he has 
adopted our system, in which case he goes to work as follows: 

A ditch is opened on a water-level along the side hill or slope, 
say a yard wide and from three to five feet deep. At the bottom 
of this ditch is loosely placed cobble and blocky stones for a foot 
or two, then flat stones are laid over these, then a quantity of 
smaller stones; cover these over with weeds, briars, bramble, fine 
brush, straw, cornstalks or any available material, to prevent the 



102 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

fine earth from falling- among and filling- the crevices bet-w^een the 
stones. A heavy coating of manure may foUo-w and then the ex- 
cavated soil is to be spread over it, grading a terrace if desired. 
"Whatever course the trench may take, the surface of the hard-pan 
at the lower side of the ditch or trench must never vary from a 
water-level. A series of such ditches, one above the other, are 
dug a rod or so apart and similarly filled, over as large a surface 
as is to be imjDroved, each forming an elongated reservoir which 
will be filled by the water courses cut off, or by the melting snows 
and early rains; and, if the subsoil is firm clay or hard-pan, it will 
be retained and as the surface soil dries it will be absorbed by 
capillary action and brought within reach of the roots of vege- 
tation. See diagrams on oj^posite page. 

In regions where the conditions are favorable, suffice it to say 
that land fitted as above described, will with wonderful celerity and 
great economy j)roduce most surprising results. 

If the reader will take the above brief description of our 
methods and consider it carefully in connection with the cuts illus- 
trating- our system, he will find no difficulty in understanding the 
principles of its construction. A few jioints only remain to be 
stated to make it perfectly plain: 

In soils where fine stone can be raked out, it should be done for 
the purpose of constructing the connecting overflow trenches. 
These overflow trenches should be in the subsoil, and filled with 
fine stone to a depth of a foot at least, and shingled with flat 
ones in the same manner as the reservoir trenches. All shingling 
should be of sufficient depth to escape the plow or the deepest 
spading. 

The construction of overflow trenches, bearing the waters from 
the reservoir at base of slope, will need to be as perfectly done as 
possible. The finer the stone below the shingling, and the more 



^4^4. Surface soil. 

B. Trenches. 

C. Subsoil. 
D. Overflovj trenches. 

M Outlet or drainage trench. 



Futenh'd July 22(Z, 1881. 




DIAGKAMS OF NEW SYSTEM. 



THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 105 

perfect the sliiiigiing-, the more complete will filtration be found, 
the more crystal the waters as they emerge into the stream and 
the more complete will be the work of leaving solids behin d as 
food for plants. The head of the overflow trenches at base of 
slope should be at least twelve or eighteen inches above the 
bottom of the reservoirs. In most cases, when the flat or bottom 
land of the valley is reached, the construction of overflow trenches 
should have an oblique direction towards the stream, or lowest 
point aimed at, in order to secure sufiicient fall to 'keep the waters 
freely moving. Two or three inches of fall to the rod will be am- 
l^le and wdiere this is not obtainable, less will suffice. 

On the west bank of the Genesee, at a jDoint about twenty 
miles from its source, is found our " Home on the Hillside," with 
its model five acres, where the author of this volume is engaged in 
demonstrating what may be done by conformation of soils and 
conservation of the waters. Nothing has been, or will be, left un- 
done to make our model so far perfect as to develope the entire 
possibilities of production, hence calculations of cost, based upon 
our own experiment, will be found greatly at fault. An equal area 
jjut under conditions ensuring an average yield annually of from 
three to five fold of that hitherto realized under former systems, 
would likely be cultivated liy parties gardening for profit; in this 
case the expense ^vould be only from one-fourth to one-half of the 
amount laid out on our model. 

The location of our home, could not well be improved, looking 
out as it does toward the East at the sun in its rising. A town of 
about four thousand population lies in the valley below, through 
which runs the far famed Genesee River for a distance of about 
forty miles above the Portage. In confluence with the river at 
this point, several tributaries unite, forming dells of rare beauty 
and attraction. All about the town rise up lofty hills on which 



106 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

are seen comfortable dwellings witli cultivated fields surrounding. 
A few only of the summits remain forest crowned. No town with- 
in our knowledge of like population, boasts a larger number of 
elegant dwellings. In looking out from our observatory, the view 
is one far reaching, both up and down the valley, and it is seldom 
surj)assed. 

Not comjoletely is our home a model, nor do we j^ropose to j^re- 
sent it as such, and yet, having j^lanted here the garden whose 
green in the season has no parallel, altitude and latitude considered 
outside of isothermal influences, we assume that the accompany- 
ing engraving of it will be of interest to our readers. "Were the 
hillside of gentler sloj)e, the effect would, in the eyes of some peo- 
ple, be a more pleasing one, and yet, such has been the effect of 
spade, pick, hoe and rake, as to make gradation so iiniform and 
gentle in decline, as to produce a most jileasing effect. So tall and 
symmetric are the trees crowning the summit, and so lustrous the 
green of the garden, whether in bud, blossom or fruitage, such is 
the scene presented as to delight all who visit us. Here in mid- 
summer when the season proves one of ordinary fruition, will 
doubtless be discovered a greater wealth of production than on 
any equal space, not under glass, in America. 

Above and to the west of the house, covering an area of less 
than two acres, trenching, fitting and jjlanting to trees,bushes and 
vines is complete. The trenches above do not quite flank the rear 
of the lawn to the east of the house, embracing about the sixteenth 
of an acre. The lawn is planted with trees, chiefly the sugar ma- 
-ple, grown to impressive proj^ortions. The surface of the lawn is 
one of the gentlest incline and were it not for injury to roots of 
the trees trenching would be forthwith pushed to the south and 
east, as already done to the north and west of the house, so that 
the green of the grass at all seasons of the year might evidence 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 107 

the magic inspiration coming of conserved, waters at spring water 
temjjerature. Let nobody conclude however that we propose to 
let our lawn remain in its jDresent condition. Despite possible 
damage to our trees from cutting off a portion of tlieir roots, we 
jDropose to trench this lawn and make connection with the«network 
of trenches and drains to the north and. west of the house, thus 
surrounding the earth with hidden waters, warmer in winter and. 
cooler in summer than the atmosphere. 

The question will doubtless be asked, can homes everywhere be 
thus environed ? Our answer is, yes, beyond doubt, esj^ecially 
those located on hill and mountain sides, slopes and inclines; and 
that too, regardless of subsoil. That this can be more economically 
and readily done where firm clay or hard-pan siibsoils are found, 
than on those where these conditions do not exist, is true, but we 
repeat our declaration that it can be done on other lands by the 
xise of substitutes, doing no more than facing the bottom of the 
trench to the depth of two or three inches with clay, cement or flat 
tile, thus permitting the trench to fill with water during rains. If 
reserve is an object it can be accomplished by facing the lower 
wall of the trench with like material within two feet of the surface, 
and by arranging an inclined plane of kindred material, thus hold- 
ing the waters in uniform currents of overflow from trench to 
trench. Whatever the character of subsoil existing in lawns, door- 
yards, gardens and grounds surrounding the dwelling, systems of 
reservoirs, planes and inclines can be so arranged as to prove avito- 
matic, and the waters kept moving in continuous flow, feeding and 
watering grasses, plants and trees at deepest root, always in abun- 
dance, and never in surfeit. 

Certain gross misrepresentations have been made and reports 
set in circulation that we had made use of springs or other 
natural and artificial sources of supply to secure results reached 



108 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

under our system of subsurface, subterranean or underground 
irrigation. All of these have not enough of foundation to be dig- 
nified by contradiction. There is not one man in America of ordin- 
ary intelligence who is not capable of understanding, after reading 
the preceding pages of this volume, that a system which gathers in 
all of the waters coming of rains, dews and melting snows, beget- 
ting perpetual irrigation during every month in the year, needs no 
artificial sources of supply, and we will not insult our readers by 
entering upon a discussion of so absurd a supjDosition that after 
saving all waters falling from the clouds upon a given watershed, 
more is needed for the growth of plants. Under old methods and 
conditions fully nine-tenths of the water of rains, and nearly all 
waters of melting snows, have been wasted in floods, hurried off by 
the insensate use of tile, or absurd systems of drainage; and when 
it comes to snow waters, these nearly all reach the streams along- 
frozen grounds and are lost. Under our system all are saved, such 
portions used as needed, and the remainder passes off in j)urity to 
streams in the valleys. 

Up to this jDoint, discussion has been confined to the uses and 
influences of the waters as they fall from the clouds, and find their 
way into trenches at spring water temperature. 

Now, however, we will treat of that feature of our system where- 
in a steady stream of cold water, drawn from a trench or reservoir 
above, is passed through a coiled pipe or boiler, and then emerg- 
ing, is dropped into the trench, the stones heated and by surface 
protection, the winter months are, to a great extent, made those of 
production. Let the following serve as an illustration. 

" A curious experiment has lately been made at Acqui, Italy, by 
the proprietor of some baths there. The gentleman has at his dis- 
posal an inexhaustible supply of hot water from a natural sju-ing, 
the temperature being 167 degrees Fahrenheit. The surplus not 



THE KEW AGHICULTUKE. 109 

required for the baths has been diverted so as to flow through 
pipes to a garden on the outskirts of the town. Here the warm 
liquid flows beneath a number of forcing frames containing melons, 
tomatoes, asparagus and other garden jn-oduce. The result is 
that a supply of these delicacies is ready for market at a very early 
jDeriod of the year, when, therefore, they fetch high jjrices." 

The significant feature of this method is the fact that evapora- 
tion of the waters at this high temperature is graduated and kept 
up night and day by heating of the stones in trenches constructed 
on substantially the same principles as those sunk under our sys- 
tem, hence the results realized. The great drawback hitherto, to 
the adoption of methods in this country, akin to those of Europe, 
viz. that of bottom heat, has been the difficulty and expense attend- 
ing keeping up fires night and day, securing the uniformity of 
temperature required for success. The case in which the barber 
in Italy quoted above makes use of the waters of hot springs to 
turn winter into summer, is by no means an isolated one, since in 
many cases throughout Europe, this is being done, and with grati- 
fjdng success. The finest of pineajDples and other tropical fruits 
are grown in England by bottom heat. There is no good reason 
why the expensive, and in many instances unsatisfactory methods 
of glass and green-house should not give way in our own country, 
and that Europe should have the monojioly of growing the hardier 
varieties of vegetables and fruits in midwinter, when by surface 
protection of cambric dipped in oil, and by the addition of glass 
the fruits of the tropics may be readily grown in this country. 

Not unlikely our book may fall into the hands of readers un- 
aware of the fact, that natural gas as fuel is being used in thou- 
sands of households in certain sections of our country. The cold 
winter through which we have jjassed has not been nearly so 
rigorous with ourself and neighbors on account of this wonderful 



110 THE NEW AGKICtJLTUEE.' 

agency. Not only Wellsville but Friendship, Cuba, Bolivar, Ricli- 
burg, Allentown, Genesee and others of our Allegany county towns 
in the state of New York are being supplied with it, but Pitts- 
burgh and numberless other cities and towns of Pennsylvania, 
Ohio and West Virginia, have been, and are being, made recipients 
of its blessings. No fuel comjoares Avith it, nor is any i:)rovision of 
the Creator of greater benificence. Discover}^ of its existence, to a 
greater or less extent, is being made in all j)arts of our country, 
and so soon as the inhabitants of colder and more inhospitable 
regions find out that they have only to dip down with the drill, 
and bring up from the cold clods of earth a fire which burns night 
and day, comforting many of the inhabitants of earth, there will 
be less digging for gold, and more for golden opportunities. 

Let nobody wait, however, for gas developement in order to aj)- 
ply our system as a substitute for the greenhouse. Coal and 
wood are abundant in most portions of our country, and these can 
be used for heating w'ater with which to warm the stone in the 
trenches. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PEACTICAL RESULTS OF THE NEW SYSTEM. 



Mr. Stewart in his practical work prints the following notes on 
the growth of crops more especially those of grasses : 

"What are the ultimate possibilities of growth in any croj) is 
unknown, but it would seem as though they depended greatly upon 
the supply of water absorbed, sufficient nutriment, of course, being 
l)rovided. Rye grass upon irrigated fields, richly fertilized, has 
grown at the rate of one inch per day, and repeated cuttings have 
been made at intervals of fourteen days, during a season of 
months. Crops of grass on irrigated fields of a total weight of 
more than eighty tons per acre have been rejDorted by trustworthy 
English farmers. Irrigated grass fields in Italy support easily 
two head of fattening cattle per acre, every year, and have long- 
done so. In hundreds of localities in European countries are irri- 
gated meadows, which have borne grass without any sign of 
deterioration within the memory of the inhabitants, or the knowl- 
edge of readers of local histories, although the crop has been cut 
and removed every year during this indefinite period. Whether 
or not these immense crops coiild be further increased by more 
skillful management is not neccessary to inquire. These products, 
are so far bevond the dreams of an American farmer, that thev 



112 THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 

may be well considered fabulous. But there is no reason to doubt 
the facts. On the contrary, they should be used as a stimulus 
for us to adopt, wherever practicable, the methods by which these 
crops are produced." 

The methods above referred to are those of surface irrigation, 
which, when compared with those of subsurface are, in results, as 
fractions to units. 

We have as before stated, grown three perfect crops of timothy 
in a season under conditions not nearly as favorable as those se- 
cured under our system as at present existing. This can be done 
not only by the farmers of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mary- 
land, the Virginias and Carolinas, but in New York, New England 
and the more northern states generally, and quite as well in 
regions still farther north, where snows fall deeply, and remain 
upon the ground during the entire winter. These are facts, and 
as such should result in insuring adoption of our system wherever 
American thrift, intelligence and enterprise prompt to action. 

In the cultivation of the vine, there opens a field so wide as to 
make its growth a source of wealth not easy to estimate. Along 
mountains and hillsides, where grajDes are grown, there is almost 
invariably found pools of water, deep hidden in chambers of stone. 

From these the waters should be dropped, below the frost line, 
where, warm in winter and cool in summer, moving from trench 
to trench, the health of the vine, hence its wealth of j^i'oduction, is 
promoted. Mr. Stewart ojiens the ninth chapter of his book as 
follows : 

" It is doubtful whether there is an orchard or vineyard in the 
United States, except in California, Utah or Colorado, subjected to 
systematic irrigation. At the same time it is doubtful if there is 
any country in the world in which irrigation could be more profit- 
ably apjjlied to fruit culture than here. The experience of orchard- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 113 

ists proves that drouth is accompanied by destructive attacks of 
insects. How far these depredations might be j^revented by irri- 
gation cannot be jDredicated, but it is beyond doubt that the vigor 
of growth that would result from a sufficient suppl}^ of moisture to 
the roots would greatly mitigate the effects of these attacks. The 
apple trees which never have an off year are those grown near 
bodies of water. A California vineyardest who irrigated his vines, 
immediately raised his product to eight tons of graj^es per acre, 
and greatlj^ improved the quality. The newly planted orange 
groves of Florida are frequently destroyed by drouth, and methods 
of irrigation are eagerly sought to render their culture more safe 
and certain. But if it were necessary to enforce the advantages of 
the irrigation of orchards, abundant evidence could be gathered 
in the south of France, Italy and other countries of southern Eu- 
rope, where the olive, orange, lime, almond, fig, aj^ple and other 
orchard trees, as Avell as the vineyards, are systematically brought 
under irrigation. As to the vine, it is a question, so far, which has 
not been thoroughly investigated, whether or not irrigation might 
be made the means of vanquishing the destructive phylloxera." 

Possibly our readers may weary with our much quoting from a 
single author. If other testimony than that of Mr. Stewart were 
required, the field from which to gather is a wide one, but Mr. 
Stewart has gleaned facts from all sources and Ave find in his book 
the history of the experience of individuals and peoples covering 
many centuries, hence the invaluable character of his conclusions. 

Among American authors, few, if any, are more popular than E. 
P. Hoe, who writes with a versatility of information and talent 
upon almost every subject, and upon none with greater accejjtance 
than upon those of agriculture and horticulture. Before us, as we 
write, lies an elegant voliime entitled " Success with Small Fruits." 
This is an exiDensive Avork, and all the more a pity since a book 



114 THE NEW A(UUCULTUKE. 

containing so much of knowledge and combining so many attrac- 
tions, should be within reach of all classes. Mr. Roe's book is one 
of three hundred pages, six only of which are devoted to the sub- 
ject of irrigation, and brief as is the chapter treating of it, the 
author makes apology for devoting even so much space to consid- 
eration of a matter ere long to be recognized as one of jiaramount 
importance. At the opening of the chapter on irrigation he says: 

" This is a tojnc on which a book might be written." 

If Mr. Eoe will look into our system, j^erhaps he will be in- 
clined to write another book. Sincerely do we wish he would do so, 
since there is a recognized charm about his writings making the 
dullest subject one of interest. 

" The c[uestiou, as we shall consider it," says Mr. Roe, "is a jiractical 
one. In California and other sections, the land must be irrigated; 
here, and where the rainfall is more equally distributed through- 
out the year, we can water if we find the practice remunerative." 

]VIi\ Roe quotes Mr. "W. D. Philbrick as saying: 

"The amount of water required will depend largely on the rain- 
fall, velocity of the wind, atmospheric humidity, soil, etc. A loose, 
sandy soil will reqiaire much more Avater than a retentive clay. In 
general, however, it may be assumed that, in the Avarm growing 
months of May, June, July, August and September, most vegeta- 
tion requires an inch in depth over the entire surface of the land 
every five days. This is, of course, only an average. This quan- 
tity, estimated as needed by our gardens, would l)e equivalent to 
six inches per month of rainfall. If we compare this amount with 
the actual rainfall, we shall arrive at an idea of what is to be sup. 
j)lied artificially. The rainfall at Boston for the jjast six years 
1873-1878, for the five growing months named, varied from a max- 
imum of 101 inches in August, 1872, to a minimum of 0.65 inch, in 
June, 187o. During these six 3-ears there was not a single season 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 115 

when we did not suffer more or less from drought during some 
portion of the summer. Twenty-one of the thirty months in ques- 
tion had less rainfall than six inches jjer month, and the average 
of these twenty-one months was about 3.02 inches per month, or 
only about half of what was needed. Some of the protracted sea- 
sons of drought were almost entirely rainless for six weeks, during- 
which the weather was excessively hot and windy, and vegetation 
suffered extremely in consequence." 

But why multiiDly witnesses touching the necessity of saving, 
instead of wasting the waters ? In our colder climates of the 
North, the waters of rains, dews and melting snows should all be 
halted, housed, husbanded and held back so far as may be, getting 
all jDossible advantages from them. As we write, there comes to 
hand a letter from Hon. John Swinburne of Albany, N. Y., which 
will find its i^lace on the pages of our book, alongside of another 
from the pen of Hon. C. R. Early of Pennsylvania. Both these 
gentlemen are representative men, eminent in jDublic, private and 
jDrofessional life. Both agree that the future of the waters is the 
one of the Avorld. The one would gather them in, purify and use 
them to make an end of fungus, deadliest enemy of vegetable and 
animal life ; the other shows how this can be done, and vividly 
portrays the advantages to come of the achievement. 

Let no reader conclude that, from the frequent mention made 
along these pages of firm subsoils, that these are the only ones 
where our system will apply. It can be applied on all soils to 
great advantage. Two out of three among correspondents writ- 
ing us have asked whether our system can be made to appl}^ to 
level lands. Oiir answer is, it will apply everywhere. The rela- 
tive advantages of its application are those of economy, and the 
lands to which it is most readily adapted will be found the most 
profitable. 



116 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

Not in the North, where demonstration of its great utility has 
"been first made, is it to perform its greatest wonders, but in the 
South, the land of cotton and corn, will be seen its greatest 
triumphs. Corn as a crop and for ensilage, and sorghum and 
beets for sugar, can be grown to an extent and with a measure of 
success hitherto unparalleled. Orange groves can be doubled and 
trebled in yield, and not merely the English grasses, but all varie- 
ties of fruits can be grown to a degree of perfection hitherto unat- 
tained. And then too, the orchard. 

"WTio shall estimate the wealth to come to North, South, East and 
"West from a system causing trees to grow, though planted amid 
droughts ? Nor only so, but a system under Avhich the old fruit 
tree becomes young and vigorous, making new roots, dropping its 
scurvy bark, its parasitic mosses, and doubling, trebling, quadrup- 
ling, and not unfrequently quintupling its yield of fruit. 

How about jDotatoes ? Let us answer this question by stating 
results as regards a single row planted in the spring of 1883. We 
had planted on lands near by for an early crop, when nearly a 
fortnight later finding sj)ace for a row immediately below one of 
our completed trenches, devoted it to the Early Rose variety. The 
first planted potatoes aj^peared above the ground five or six days 
in advance of this test row. By the first of June, the latter show- 
ed much larger and finer growth of vines than the former, and the 
X^otatoes of both matured about the same time, the 25th of July. 
All were perfectly ripe, the earliest planted, however, were dwarfed 
by blight, and more or less eaten by wire worms, their average size 
being about that of a hen's egg. The vines of our test row lived 
their full life, and died a natural death, showing a crop of marvel- 
ous size, beauty and jDerfection. Sufiice it to say that not a single 
jiotatoe was found rotted in our test row, nor was there the mark 
of the •' tooth" of a wire worm found, The jDotatoes averaged the 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 117 

size of a goose egg, and a few specimens were as fine as the very 
finest we have ever seen. The yield from this one row was nearly 
or quite three times as miicli as from any grown that season on 
our own grounds or on those of our neighbors of equal area. In 
nearly or quite every hill outside of the test row, was found from 
one to three or four rotten potatoes, and these, as usual, were the 
largest ones. 

Why this very great difference ? nearly or cjuite every reader 
will naturally enquire. Here is our answer: No uncomposted 
manure was mixed with the soil, and consequently no seeds of 
fungus were sown. On lands above the trench, manures were 
spread between rows of rasjjberries, while still farther up our 
manures had been corded for composting. The snows of winter 
and rains of early spring had sent their waters in flow adown 
the incline, and when our first trench was reached, these were 
dropped into its dej^ths and the trench filling and overflowing, 
the waters passed through the sponge of our single row, feedings 
the tubers with " broth, soup or porridge,'' and hence there was 
l^erfection in growth and fruition. This accounts for the fact, at- 
tested by Dr. C. R. Earley, in his chapter on fungi, that nowhere 
on our grounds is that deadly enemy of vegetable and animal 
life to be found. 

Perhaps the point has not yet been reached to proj)ound the 
question ere long to be everywhere asked: Will it pay to drink 
water and grow fruits uncontaminated with stagnation and other 
sources of infection and contagion ? In other words will it pay to 
grow fruits and vegetables to sell, which, when eaten by yourself and 
family, are liable to engender disease and joroduce death, when by 
the simplest of means, through adoption of methods discovered and 
fully demonstrated, those of far greater perfection and with larger 
profits, can be grown free from infection, and perfect in all ways. 



118 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

How about vineyards ? Can more grapes be grown under sys- 
tems of subsurface irrigation than by ordinary methods in coun- 
tries of rainfall ? That surface irrigation has been found a neces- 
sity in arid regions, is well understood; and there also, have the 
finest gra^Des of the world been grown. Uj) to this time, however, 
no vineyard, so far as we are aware, has been planted under 
circumstances, and ciiltivated under conditions conforming to the 
utmost develoj^ement of the vine and product. The terrace is 
constructed and when the rainfall is abundant the waters, des- 
cending the incline, are checked in degree by the level of the ter- 
race, but when this becomes dry and baked the water of brief 
showers moves off in rapid flow, and, if the shower is a hard one, 
the terraces in groups come little short of jiresenting an ap- 
l^earance of successive cascades. In rainless regions, where jDro- 
vision is made for irrigation by mechanical means, and in those 
of an abundant rainfall, so numerous have been the cases of 
failure to realize a croj^ as to have had a discouraging effect. 

In no regard has Mr. Stewart's book more jDrofoundly im- 
pressed us, than his frank confession throughout the work of 
the impossibility of so apjilying water to the surface, as to in- 
sure jDrofitable results. Nothing could be more convincing of 
the superiority of our system than this confession. 

After devoting a large amount of space to j)rove that winter 
irrigation of meadows and pastures has proven not only suc- 
cessful but profitable in climates of Southern Europe, and de- 
monstrating the fact that in all portions of our own country 
where the ground freezes only to the depth of a few inches or 
not at all, irrigation in the winter months would have wonder- 
ful effect in continuing the growth of grasses at their roots, 
Mr. Stewart hands over to the hoi^eless desolation of winter the 
regions in which dwell millions of our most intelligent, enterpris- 



THE KEW AGRICULTURE. 119 

ing and thrifty people by saying that "in the Northern States 
and. Canada, winter irrigation is impracticable." 

In turn, we do not hesitate to declare, that if a series of trenches 
along inclines was constructed from three to five feet deep, at any 
and all 23oints in the States of New England, New York, New Jer- 
sey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Wis- 
consin, Minnesota and throughout the Canadas, Nova Scotia and 
NeAv Brunswick, drojjping the waters of autumn rains so deeply 
down as to hold them during winter at spring water temperature, 
they would be found to melt the snows at bottom and hold the 
trenches nearly or quite full of pure spring water during every day 
of winter. 

In no particular do we propose to leave demonstration incomj)lete. 
The following article from the Chicago Journal tells the story : 

" When the hair on the heads of the young and rising generation 
shall have been whitened with age; when their descendants of the, 
second generation shall be toddling around their great arm-chairs 
or begging to be taken on their knees and told some stories of the, 
to them, mysterious past, the grandparents will, no doubt, on many 
such occasions recall the winter from which we are just emerging' 
but which has clung so tenaciously to the lap of spring, and which 
still seems so unwilling to leave us, and speak of it as the terrible 
winter of 1884-85, when the thermometer for fully one-third of the 
w'hole season remained below zero, and when, during the entire 
months of January and February, the mercury rose to the freezing 
points or above on only fifteen occasions; when snow-storms were 
of almost daily occurrence, and when the regular sj^ring-time of 
the year had run considerable of its course before the great moun- 
tains of snow, which had almost hidden the earth, had disap^Deared 
from view. It can not even now be gainsaid that the past winter 
was a pretty tart one. Setting in as it did about the middle of De- 



120 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 



cember, it has continued with the full force of its rigor till the end 
of March, and its whole course has been marked with the fewness 
and long distance apart of its intervals of mildness. Its record for 
severity cannot be surpassed by that of many seasons in the I3res- 
ent centiiry. 

" The coldest day of the year, taking it all together, Avas Febru- 
ary 10, when the thermometer stood at 16 degrees below zero for 
almost the entire twenty-four hours, though at other times it sank 
for a short time as low as 30 degrees below. 

" Below will be found a record of the dates on which the ther- 
mometer was below zero between 8 a. m. and 1 p. m. : 

"December 17, 2 degrees; 18, 12; 19, 7. January 2, 4 degrees; 18, 
5; 14, 10; 19, 17; 20, 8; 21, 6; 22, 16; 26, 7; 28, 15. February 10, 
16 degrees; 11, 13; 12, 3; 13, 10; 15, 10; 16, 13; 17, 7; 18, 2; 19, 
1; 20, 9. March 20, 2 degrees. 

" The dates in January and February when the thermometer rose 
above freezing were: 

"January 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 31, and February 2, 3, 4, 24, 25, 26, 27 
and 28." 

Unless other winters of greater severity remain in store for the 
present and future generations, we have no hesitation in declaring 
that our system is good for irrigation from December to Aj)ril of 
anv year likely to come while there remains alive a single child 
now born, and we believe at any parallel of latitude between Mason 
and Dixon's lines, and Hudson's Bay. Certain is it, that Southern 
Alaska can safely count on having been released from subjection 
to the dominions of the Frost King, since it has been discovered 
that this hitherto little understood portion of our country possesses 
a climate producing crops vastly superior to those of the more 
northerly countries of Europe and Asia, and that grasses can be 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 121 

made to greenly grow all winter beneath the snoAvs of this inost 
inhospitable of our territorial possessions. 

The article quoted from the Chicago Journal, will, we are sure, 
convince every reader that the past one has been a winter through- 
out the North and East, justifying- \is in saying that so far as Alle- 
gany County, N. Y. goes, that farmers using our system may defy 
the Frost King-. 

It is three years since the Hon, Warner Miller, so ably and emi- 
nently representing New York in the United States Senate, re- 
marked : 

" If you can realize the results claimed under your system, Mr. 
Cole, and I incline to believe it, then our State is caj^able of main- 
taining a population within its limits of an hundred millions, sup- 
jDorted in comfort, from agriculture and horticulture alone," 

If this is possible in the State of New York, we ask our readers 
to read the following copied from The Norlhwest, of March, 1884, 
and estimate what our system would do when applied to the most 
inhospitable, and hitherto deemed, from an agricultural point of 
view, hopeless region embraced within the boundaries of the Ame- 
rican Union : 

" Alaska is a broad peninsula situated at the northwestern ex- 
tremity of the continent, washed on the south by the mild waters 
of the Pacific and on the north by those of the frozen Arctic. 
Upon its frozen and deej)ly indented shore line, towering and rug- 
ged headlands enclose quiet and picturesque coves and harbors, 
within many of which the united naval fleets of the world might 
float, secure from the storm-tossed billows of the encompassing 
oceans. Extending back from its coast is a broad zone of fertile 
lands, characterized by wide-i"eaching plateaus and magnificent 
valleys, richly clothed with native grasses, and watered l)y deep- 
flo-^ing, majestic rivers. 



122 THE NEW AGKICULTURE. 

" Within its interior the Rocky Mountains attain their greatest 
altitude north of Colorado, Mt. St. Elias, near its southern boun- 
dary, towering to the height of 17,000 feet. The mountain regions 
are distinguished by immense forests of j)ine, fir, cedar and hem- 
lock, sometimes extending in an unbroken growth for many miles 
upon the lower portions of the range, and broad low-lying basins, 
(ancient lake beds), shadowed by naked, rocky cones and snow- 
clad i^eaks. The climate of Alaska is not so intemperate as its 
northerly situation would indicate, the Kurho-Siva or Japanese 
current, an ocean stratum of heated waters, flowing from the South 
Pacific, exerting upon it a climatic influence, analogous to that of 
the Gulf Stream upon the British Isles. Moist, warm winds blow 
across the Alaskan sea-coast regions, and the Aleutian Islands, 
situated near, in the Behring Strait, lending to them a delightfid. 
summer climate, and I'endering them fruitful in the extreme. The 
fiftieth isothermal, which leaves the eastern coast of Asia near 
Pekin, strikes the continent of North America near the 50th paral- 
lel of north latitude, then trending rapidly to the south, passes 
near the region of the great lakes, and leaves the eastern coast of 
the continent, near the city of New York, 

" Thus we find the climate of the lower regions of Alaska very 
similar to that of Wisconsin, Michigan, and the New England 
States. The records of the Signal Ofiice established at Sitka for 
five years, show the mean temperature of the year to be the same 
in Alaska as in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the productive 
power of the soil is certainly equal to that of any portion of the 
northeastern j^art of the United States." 

That this is no picture of fancy, we have occasion to know as a 
few hours further sail of the steamer which, a year ago, bore us 
to Victoria the cajDital of British Columbia, situated on Van 
Couver's Island and lying in the same latitude as northern New 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 123 

Foundland, would have borne us into Alaskan waters. Here at 
Victoria fruit trees had dropped their blossoms, and apples, pears, 
plums and other fruits were developing. No spot of earth was green- 
er nor one blander and more summer like in atmosphere. Keep- 
ing no diary, as nearty as we can fix the date from memory, we left 
Victoria the last of April, and reaching our Allegany County home 
on the sixth of May, found our family and neighbors just begin- 
ning work in their gardens. "While our own little plat was a fort- 
night ahead, even this was fully three weeks behind what we had 
found the gardens of Victoria to be ten days before. The calcula- 
tion is therefore a safe one, that the average March of Victoria 
is the May of Allegany, and that the springs of Southern Alaska 
average as early as those of Western New York. 

On the 13th day of April, within a week after the dejDarture of 
the snows, the soil of our garden being soft and porous, its surface 
having been warmed by the sun, we began garden making by put- 
ting in peas, onions, lettuce, beets, etc. Though all around and 

about, the earth was frozen to the depth of from two to four feet 

> 

upon that portion fitted under our system not a particle of frost 
was discernable. Having begun garden making on the 13th of 
April, a week later visiting New York and casting our eye out of 
the car vdndow going and coming, in no spot did we see the com- 
mencement of seeding. In fact, we were assured by Alfred Hen- 
derson, son of Mr. Peter Henderson, seedsman, of New York City, 
that work in the open grounds of New Jersey had not begun, and 
that in shaded spots all over the northern portions of that State, 
frost remained in the ground. 

Such, nevertheless, was the condition of the soil in our garden 
at the period of first seeding, that germination immediately fol- 
lowed, and our peas, sowed on the 13th, were out of the ground on 
the morning of April 28th ; onions were sprouted, and other seed- 



124 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

ing had resulted in germination. Our rhubarb, or pie plant which 
had shot up into the snows before their departure was large enough 
for use, and the promise, made to the Jerseymen j^resent on the 
occasion of our address before the Farmers' Club of the American 
Institute had been made good, the present season finding us ahead 
of New Jersey in planting our garden. When we say that Alle- 
gany County, N. Y., is usually a fortnight, and not infrequently 
three weeks behind New Jersey in the opening of the spring, it 
will not be questioned that water in trenches at spring water tem- 
perature produces wonderful results. That the i^roducing season 
will be lengthened from forty to sixty days on lands fitted under 
our system, may be therefore set down as a fact. 

The virtues of " The New Agriculture," was most severely tested 
on the morning of April 28th. The wind was in the southeast, 
and the mercury at 10 A. M., stood at 50*^ above zero, and 
reached 65° at noon ; the day was one of spring balm. It began 
raining about 3 P. M., the wind south, and the shower Avas one 
more of May than April. Shifting suddenly into the north, 
Boreas put on the lion in earnest and a violent snow storm en- 
sued. The night was one of severe coldness and when we awoke 
at 4 A. M. on the 29th, we made up our mind that if there was 
virtue in cold water, this was the time to test it. Repairing to 
our garden, the frigid condition of the ground all around, out- 
side of our two acres, was about as hoj)eless as in dead of win- 
ter. Beneath our feet, however, the soil yielded, and upon mak- 
ing examination we found no frost. The " noses " of our jjeas, 
sticking out of the ground, had a look much more nearly blue 
than green. Only the day before, meeting friends in Elmira, 
we had boasted of our pie plant, challenging comjiarison with 
any grown in open grounds either in New York or New Jersey. 
These, howevei*, to our discomfiture, next morning were found 




STRAWBERRY BOUQUET. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 125 

frozen to the consistency of an icicle, breaking like glass on 
bending. Observing however that the ground was not frozen, we 
concluded that the root was not killed, and, by way of experiment, 
we subjected the frozen stalks and leaves to a cold bath. RejDair- 
ing to a pile of forest leaves, we bore several bushels to our plants, 
and covering them deeply, poured upon each hill, four pails of 
water, drawn from the hydrant near by. The saturation was com- 
plete. The sun rose coldly, and shone out in a frigid way all day, 
and yet, had we not protected them by the wetted leaves from the 
effects of its rays, there would probably have been an end of pies for 
a fortnight thereafter. Once or twice during the day, we ventured 
to take a look at our frozen jDlants, and each time had more and 
more hope of saving them. Removing the leaves on the 30th, we 
found our pie plant uninjured. Precisely one year before, we ate 
rhubarb ytie at a hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, grown in the 
open ground, beneath the balmy breezes of the Japan current. A 
little upwards of a week later we reached our Allegany home, but 
ate no rhubarb pie till after the middle of May. 

Our five hills of rhubarb or pie jDlant were four years ago (1881) 
transplanted, and in resetting, were planted along the line of one 
of our leads or overflow trenches. Not till last fall, however, were 
they so connected with the reservoirs, as to keep a steady 
stream of water rvinning beneath them, and since September last, 
the flow has not ceased. And so it was, that on the departure of 
the snows about April 10th, our jiie jilant had shot u-p into its 
snowy covering, getting the start of any in our State by a week or 
or ten days. It is not only in this, but in numberless other ways 
we have demonstrated the fact that a stream of spring water run- 
ning beneath Avill give inspiration to the growth of plants in win- 
ter It is in this regard that our system differs, and in fact is 
distinct from all methods hitherto iJi'Ojjosed and in some instances 



126 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

put iu oi3eratiou throvigli lueaus of 2:)erforated. tile, begetting what 
has been denominated sub-irrigation. 

Tile has been laid to considerable extent in California, Nevada, 
Colorado and New Mexico, and the resulting irrigation has been 
found phenomenally successful, leaving that of the surface meth- 
ods completely in the shade. There has been a patent allowed on 
the tile, but not upon the system, yet the ordinary drain tile an- 
SAvers every purpose, leaking suflficiently at joints to diffuse the 
Avaters. To lay a network of this tiling at sufficient depth to 
escape the effects of frost in winter, more especially in regions 
Avhere the freezing reaches a dej^th of several feet would be a most 
exj^ensive and unpromising undertaking at best, and when to the 
great expense of this mode of preparing lands to receive the 
water, is added that of making provision for water supply depend- 
ent upon springs, streams, artesian wells, windmills, current wheels, 
and the thousand and one other devices necessary to such a system, 
not one man in a thousand can he found to give the thing a 
moment's attention especiallj'^ if he farms in rainfall sections. 
"NVe desire here to give the wonderful history of the old apj^le tree 
that stood and now stands renewed in life upon our hillside. This 
tree, the only fruit bearing one on our original j^lot, was up- 
wards of thirty years old, and l^efore trenching began was 
so unthrifty, covered with moss and in all ways so unpromis- 
ing as to incline us to cut it down as a cumberer of the ground. 
Nor was the tree alone undesirable. The fruit, a golden russet, 
grew no larger than what is known as the lady apple, nor nearly 
as large as we have for the last two years grown strawberries iii 
certain instances. The fruit was so tough as to he left in the cel- 
lar until all other aj^ples were gone, and not unfrerpientJy thrown 
away in the end. Not to exceed a bushel and a half had been 
gathered from the tree in any one season i:)revious to 1883. In the 



THE NEW A<iRIOULTUKE. 127 

month of October, 1882, a deep and model trench was sunk imme- 
diately above this June russet apjjle tree. The sjDring- succeeding, 
the wealth of blossoms on this tree was surjirising. The blossoms 
were of a size attracting attention of even the children, being 
nearly tAvice the size of the ordinary aj)ple blossom. The fruit 
developed rapidly, and by the first of August the apples had 
reached a growth larger than at any time before when the fruit 
was harvested. Such was the Aveight of the fruit as to necessitate 
the propping of nearly every limb. When the aj^ples ripened, com- 
plete transformation was discovered. Little, if any russet coating 
was to be seen, the fruit having dropped its color and coating, and 
some of the better specimens would have passed for greenings. 

When Mr. J. F. Langworthy visited us, we presented him with 
specimens of plums of the size of an ordinary hen's egg, j)icked in 
his presence from a tree which, before our system was adopted, had 
never given them larger than a small pullet's egg. Si^ecimens of 
these plums were also sent the same year, (1883), to Hon. E. E. 
Fenton, ex-Governor of our State, and exhibited in New York to 
Hon H. J. Jewett, President of the N. Y. Lake Erie and Western 
Railroad Company-, and to Alfred Henderson, son of Mr. Peter 
Henderson, and were pronounced by all to be the finest specimens 
they had ever seen. 

WTiile Deacon B. F. Langworthy was looking over our grounds, 
Ave plucked heads of timothy of second cutting, eight inches in 
length, fully seeded, and subsequently cut others, a third crop avera- 
ging six inches. As near as we can now recollect, the first of these 
cuttings was about the middle of June, the second the last of July, 
and the third about the middle of September. In the first cutting 
the heads averaged nine inches, and in some instances reached ten, 
and in one, at least, eleven inches in length and of most surprising 
weight. Specimens of the Kittatinii}' blackberry were also pre- 



128 THE XEW AGRICULTURE. 

sented to Deacon Langwortliy of such marvellous size and beauty^ 
as to excite wonder. We also showed Mr. Langwortliy four rows of 
the Philadelj^hia red raspberry, in which the bushes were so hea^dly 
laden as to make it imjDossible to stake them sufficiently to prevent 
the bushes from being i^rostrated by the wind. As near as we 
could calculate, the yield would have equalled five hundred bush- 
els to the acre. This, however, is mere guess work, since to pick 
the berries as fast as they ripened was impossible, and more than 
half of the crop perished. 

That hillside lands having clay or hard-pan subsoils valued at 
fifty dollars j^er acre, and scarcely paying at that, Avill have their 
soils deepened and rendered correspondingly productive, and at 
an expense not exceeding fifty dollars per acre in trenching, be- 
come permanently improved, paying sjilendidly on from two to 
five hundred dollars j^er acre, we have no doubt. Although differ- 
ent views may exist as to the increase in value of farm lands by 
adoption of our system, when it comes to the matter of gardening 
and fruit farming, our own experience is conclusive. 

It has only been four years since the first stroke of work was 
done on our model five acres. We have now about a quarter of an 
acre of strawberries, plants three years old in August of the j^res- 
ent year (1885); not far from an eighth of an acre two years old; 
another eighth, eighteen months old, and a quarter of an acre will 
be a year old the last of September, 1885. Our first quarter of an 
acre, three years old the present season, will be found only good 
for the half of a full croj), from the fact of having imi^erfectl}' done 
our work at the beginning. Our currants, raspberries and black- 
berries are just fairly coming into bearing, also our quince, pear 
and plum trees. ^Vlien all are in full bearing, (which we cannot 
count iipon short of five years yet), to put the income from our five 
acres at five hundred dollars and upward joer acre is jDerfectly safe. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 129 

marketing what fresh fruits and vegetables we can at or near 
home, and evaporating and jDreserving the remainder. It is 
equally as safe to calculate that, were a like five acres situated 
near any of our great northern cities, the profits would be corres- 
pondingly increased. It is no uncommon thing, as we note by the 
newspapers, for strawberries to sell in the New York markets dur- 
ing the holidays, which can be done under our hot water system, 
for several dollars per quart. One acre of strawberries, at the rate 
we have grown them, would bring a sum we leave to our readers 
to calculate. 

Before us lies a letter received some time since from Mr. F. G. 
Jones, of Keuka, Putnam County, Florida, who writes : 

" If there could be found out a way to retain the water here for 
future use to all jalants, Florida would become one of the richest 
fruit growing states in the Union. We have a rain nearly every 
day all summer, but it sinks below the surface almost immediately, 
and as the soil is sandy will not retain moisture like northern soils. 
I want to set some strawberries this fall. They do well here, and 
are gathered from January to July, and bring from twenty-five 
cents to one dollar and twenty' -five per quart." 

From all portions of the South as well as from States like New 
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and notably from states and 
territories embraced in what has been denominated the Great 
American desert, letters have been coming for months, asking all 
sorts of questions touching our system. The burden of these is 
always the same, " the droughts, the droughts, how shall we escape 
the droughts." But for the ordinary farmer, one who is cultivat- 
ing from fifty to an hundred, and thus on to thousands of acres, 
the question again is, will it pay ? To this we answer, if any far- 
mer doubts it, let him make experiment on a single acre of meadow 
land. Let him try an acre of potatoes, beans, peas or corn on 



130 THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 

trenclied lauds, and compare results, year in and year out, and if 
it is not found to pay immeasurably better than any farming lie 
has ever done, our five acres are growing lies. 

Not a day j^asses but there comes to our place the farmer, the 
fruit grower, the gardener, the greenhouse man, each in turn look- 
ing over our grounds, and are filled with amazement at results, and 
yet they still ask, will it pay ? All agree that it will pay us to ex- 
jjend five hundred dollars in fitting an acre to i^erfection, and yet 
question whether it will pay other i:)eoj)le, costing no more than 
from fifty to an hundred dollars an acre according to conditions of 
soil and original lay of the land. AVe went to work four years ago 
on one of the most uni:)romising sjDots possible to imagine, and did 
next to nothing with the team, plow, scraper, or anything else in- 
deed but the i^ick, sj^ade, hoe, potatoe digger and rake; our hard 
clay and gravelly hillside abounded in stone, with little of surface 
soil, and we were at an exj^ense twice as great as that to which the 
horticulturist would be ordinarily subjected. 

"When it comes to agriculture, the same amount of work could 
be done in most instances at from a third to a fifth of the cost, fit- 
ting lands in a way to grow two, and probably three perfect crojDS 
of grass of from three to four tons each annually to the acre, from 
five hundred to a thousand bushels of potatoes; from an hundred 
to an hundred and twenty-five bushels of oats; an hundred bushels 
of shelled corn on an average, and other crops in i:)roj)ortion. 

A perpetual green of grasses can be realized in regions of 
the North where snows fall deepl}', and lie on the ground during 
the winter, since the water in the trenches constructed under 
our system are drojDped beneath the frost line, and such is 
their effect upon soils, as to j)revent freezing, and the hardier 
varieties of plants are made to grow greenly beneath the snows. 
The regions in Avhich this can be most economically^, readily and 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 131 

perfectly done, are those of hills, vallej's and undulations having 
firm clay or hardpan subsoils, where an abundance of stone, 
round flat and fine, are found in the soil. This class of lands are, 
in fact, the most valuable for purposes of ag-riculture and horti- 
culture in the world. Upon and along them, will, within a few 
years, be found the loveliest houses, the richest peoples, the finest 
farms, and gardens, and in their neighborhood and vicinity, the 
grandest cities of the world. 

We have found no difficulty in convincing every man who has 
examined our methods of gathering in and flowing on and out of the 
waters, that these can be controlled in subsurface flow, yet there 
are few who have yet realized the fact, that, when there is a general 
adoption of our system the springs of the primeval forest are to 
not only reappear, but that hundreds and thousands of others will 
develope, forming rivulets and rivers, growing lakes, the latter alive 
with trout and other varieties of fish, jDresenting a scene akin to 
transformation of the earth's surface. 

Fearing that we might occasionally mislead people to adojDt our 
system if we published estimates based on the actual cost of 
trenching to us, we have coimted as an investment all moneys ex- 
pended, not merely for fitting of lands, but for manuring, making, 
harvesting and marketing products, as Avell for plants and trees 
set upon our grounds. Three acres of our jolot, or thereabout, are 
being prepared for strawberries. On this jDortion all stone, big 
and little are taken out and placed in trenches. To do this, as it 
appears to us, pays better than to leave the work imperfectly done. 
Few people, i^erhaps, will be found to agree with us, however fav- 
orably lands to be fitted may be located in proximity to profitable 
markets. 

We note that the question has been asked : 



132 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

Do our trenclies ensure this marvellous growth and perfection 
of fruitage, or is it not rather the fifteen inches of fine tilth upon a 
hard pan subsoil which we have formed, that holds the rainfall 
producing the extraordinary resvdts as exhibited on our hillside ? 

That fifteen inches of fine tilth will produce a marvel of growth 
we well know, for years ago we tried the experiment by dipping as 
deep down as possible with spade and fork, securing fifteen, pos- 
sibly twenty inches of fine tilth, growing the Triomphe de Gaud 
strawberry and other fruits to marvellous size, beauty and perfec- 
tion. It cost us more to secure that fifteen or twenty inches of 
fine tilth on one-sixteenth of an acre, than it is now costing to secure 
an equally productive one five feet deep on &full acre by trenching. 

A few weeks since, among invitations received, asking us to dis- 
course on systems of irrigation and drainage came one from Mr. 
Newel Cheney, Secretary of the Western New York Agricultural 
and Horticultural Association, for an address at Cuba, Allegany 
County, during the annual meeting of said association on the 11th 
■and 12th of June. Coupled with this invitation came also a pamph- 
let containing report of proceedings and addresses at last year's 
annual meeting of the association held at Kandolph, Cattaraugus 
County, March 13th, and 14th, 1884. Among addresses on that 
occasion none was read with greater relish than that by Prof J. T. 
Edwards, D. T>., of Kandolph, N. Y., on the Conewango Valley, 
w^hich consists of a dead level of " about forty thousand acres of 
oozy, unproductive swamp lands." In the opening of his address^ 
Professor Edwards asks how these swamps can be converted into 
beautiful farms, waving with timothy and clover. From first to 
last, the Doctor gives us a compend of good things. That Doctor 
Edwards gave becoming directions as regarded straightening the 
bed of the creek, and so deepening it at one point as to set the 
waters in rapid flow along the valley beyond, is evident. So far as 



THE NEW AGKICULTURE. 133 

the Doctor goes, lie makes no mistake, but stops short at the very 
spot where he shoukl have gone ahead. Pointing to EurojDe, he 
says : 

" Holland, for instance, is one of the most j)rosj)erous countries 
in the world, a land where banks never fail, where pauperism is 
unknown, and bankruptcy unheard of. It is held against the 
hourly protest of the sea. The houses rest upon piles driven into 
the soft earth, yet its drainage is so perfect, that its productive- 
ness is wonderful. The dykes cost more than sixty millions of 
dollars. It is the best example of plucky farming on the planet." 

To cover the case the Doctor should have added that, Hollanders 
have found out the way and put it in practice, how to drain and 
irrigate, irrigate and drain, not starving by fits and stuffing by 
starts, but feeding and watering the vegetable kingdom, always 
abundantly and never in surfeit, never attempting to grow crops 
in the way some people do pigs, with a streak of fat and a streak 
of lean, but so arranging their dykes and ditches as to keep the 
waters always moving through their soils. 

Let us suggest that should the State of New York continue in 
its determination not to extend aid to undertakings such as re- 
claiming the swamp lands of the Conewango Valley, and a stock 
company will organize and purchase the entire forty thousand 
acres and do precisely what Doctor Edwards projDOses, not stop- 
ping there, but sinking trenches and cross drains for overflow in a 
way to do what the Hollanders have done, and though it were to 
become necessary to manufacture tile, conforming them to the 
work in hand, thirty dollars an acre at least can he made, or in the 
aggregate, one million, two hundred thousand dollars. 

The Doctor tells us that three kinds of land are found in the 
swamps, one composed of deep muck, another of fine silt reaching 
an unknown depth, and a third composed of a mixture of the two. 



134 THE XEW AGRICULTURE. 

There are i^robably very few stones, if anj', found in the soil, and 
recourse to tile would become necessary. The rains, dews and 
waters coming- of melting snows should be droj^ped at the least 
four feet deep, with overflow drains or tile and cappings about 
eighteen inches beneath the surface. Such perforation of the tile 
should be made as to most evenly and generally diffuse the watei's, 
and if all is done in a common sense way, so pure will these l)e 
found, so uniform the temperature, that dwellers in the Cone- 
wango Valley will every year see a green Christmas, and instead of 
growing frogs, toads, lizards and the like, will be able to bring 
out lakes crystal clear all along the track of their waters, alive 
with bass, perch and pickerel, and not unlikely the mountain trout 
of California, or jDOSsibly those of the brooks of Allegany, Catter- 
augus and Chautauqua, of an half century ago. 



CHAPTER y. 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE NEW AGRICULTURE UPON THE HEALTH OF MAN AND 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS COMMUNICATION FROM THE HON. JOHN SWINBURNE 

THE BANE OF FUNGUS, BY PROF. C. R. EARLEY. 



It is the last of June (1885) and all over the country come reports 
of drought, nor any wonder. The tile manufacturers and their 
jDatrons must by some means find out that this hurrying off and 
drying up of the waters, is a most serious matter, and one which^ 
persevered in, will result in disasters greater, first or last, than 
has been as yet realized in any civilized land. New York City, 
with her vast population is fearful of an impending water famine. 
Doctors Edson and Taylor recommend the purchase of a tract of 
land half a mile wide on each bank of the Croton River to 
i:)rovide against contamination of its waters. This recommendation 
should be heeded. The entire water shed of the Croton ought to 
be purchased, trenched and planted to trees; made a park, and 
filled with babbling brooks and crystal lakes and stocked with 
trout. That the w^ater supply would, under such conditions, be 
found at all times abundant for a city as large as London, New 
York and Paris we are inclined to believe. 

This brings us to the introduction of a witness whose reputation 
is such as to need no endorsement from us, standing as he does in 



136 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

the front rank of American physicians and surgeons — the Hon. 
John Swinburne, late Mayor of the city of Albany, at one time 
Health Officer of the Port of New York, and now^ Member of Con- 
gress elect from the Albany district. 

Albany, May 7th, 1885. 
Hon. A. N. Cole : 

Dear Sir: — After quite thorough examination and consideration of 
your invention, or system styled by you " The New Agriculture," I 
have become deeply interested in the matter, and beg leave by letter 
to express to you the imin-essions I have formed in reference to it. 

Careful thought about the system impels me to the conclusion 
that as a j^lan for the storage and preservation of waters for irrig- 
tion and purposes of general use, it demands and merits far more at- 
tention at the hands of farmers, gardeners and the jDublic generally 
than has as yet been given to it. 

In a country like ours— in the eastern, southern and central 
portions fast filling ujd with large cities and villages and thickly 
poj)ulated neighborhoods — the question of the most available 
means of obtaining a projier and sufficient suj^j^ly of water for 
mechanical manufacturing and household puiposes, and for pro- 
tection against fires is calling to its consideration the earnest atten- 
tion and careful study of many of our ablest scientists and most 
practical thinkers; while to agriculturists, manufacturers and mill 
owners generally, in these sections, the very perceptible decrease in 
the volume of our rivers, creeks and other irrigating streams, upon 
the sufficiency of the supply of water from which they have been 
compelled heretofore (some in part and others wholly), to dej^end 
for success in their various avocations, has been to man}- of them 
the cause of great diminution of business and business profits, and 
to others a subject of deepest anxiety. The reduction of our forests, 
it is said, (and very properly too), has resulted in a consequent re- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 137 

duction of our rivers and streams, which were once freely naviga- 
ble from their mouths nearly to their sources, until they are now 
only kept open for commerce in many parts by the application of 
great labor and large expenditures of money almost continually. 
And as have failed these larger streams, so have also their smaller 
tributaries (from which they all in fact derive their supplies), be- 
come lessened in volume, until at length farms wiiich were once 
properly and abundantly watered are now comparatively without 
supjjly, and streams which once furnished sufficient water-power 
for the running of mills and factories, now scarcely afford power 
sufficient to propel the churns of the farmers occupying their 
banks. The depreciation in the value of lands in many parts of 
the country for agricultural purposes, and in the supply of crops 
therefrom, and from the same cause, has become equally percepti- 
ble. Yet, the supj^ly of water from the clouds — from rains and 
snows — has not, so far as we know, in any way decreased; — but 
the forests are not here to husband them, and these waters are 
jDcrmitted to soak into the ground, or run to waste from the sur- 
face almost as soon as they strike the earth. 

The problem heretofore has been how best to secure and hus- 
band these supplies, by artificial means, so as to most effectually 
jDreserve them for the vast demands of our wonderfully increasing 
j^opulation, for family and business purposes, and especially so as 
to make them more useful in the cultivation of the soil. 

Many able and ingenious thinking men have for a long time 
given this question their attention; and many plans have been 
suggested — some of greater and some of less merit — but all accom- 
l^anied with an apj^arent intricacj' of detail and weight of expense 
in their application, which has prevented the general or consider- 
able adoption of either. 

But you, Mr. Cole, seem at last to have discovered a scheme. 



138 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

plain and practical in itself, and evidently of but moderate expense 
in its adaptation to the uses and necessities of a very large propor- 
tion of the people who are now suffering severely from the evils to 
which I have above called attention. You style your system " The 
New Agriculture," and from its probable effect upon agricultural 
districts in which it may be hereafter adopted, as indicated by the 
exj)eriments you have already made, the name would not seem to be 
in any way misapplied. If the results of its use in general should 
be an increase in crops and vegetation, to but half the extent fore- 
shadow'cd or promised by those experiments, (and I can see no 
sufficient reason why your claims in this respect may not be fully 
verified by practical application of your plan) you have developed 
and now offer to the country and the race a new system for hus- 
banding the falling waters and a new plan for their use which will 
not only establish a new era in agriculture, but which may be so 
used as to afford the needed supply of good, healthful and jDure 
water for the other ordinary uses of life to very many sections of 
the earth, where the inhabitants are now suffering disadvantages 
and deprivations from its want. 

Your plan or invention is exceedingly simple in detail, and the 
greatest wonder to any one who shall see or read of it will be, 
that it had not been thought of, developed and adopted long be- 
fore. It bears the impress of reason and sound sense upon its 
first presentation to the mind and more mature reflection ujDon its 
merits only results in more strongly developing these characteris- 
tics in it. The scientist and the plow-boy alike can each with 
equal promptness and facility perceive its scheme and merits at a 
glance, and the person who proposes to use it on his farm or gar- 
den, or in connection with his shop, dwelling-house, mill or fac- 
tory will not require the assistance of the scientific and mathemati- 
cal knowledge of the civil engineer or architect to enable him to 



k» <s-^?Jh.^' -,~*-X'^''i 




'mm 















STRAWBEEEY, NATURAL SIZE. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 139 

put it in successful operation, the brain of an astute accountant to 
estimate its cost, or the eye or mind of the learned student of 
nature to discover its results. Combining- in itself a plan for the 
accomplishment of these objects highly essential to the comfort, 
convenience and business interests of the people,- — storage of water, 
irrigation and drainage, — it will be seen at once by even the ordi- 
nary mind upon most casual inspection, to be practicable and 
feasible for either purpose, and it must be equally evident that 
great advantages must accrue to the user of the system either for 
agricultural purposes, the storage of water for other general uses, 
or as a means of drainage simply. 

Scarcely a township exists in our country, in which there are 
not many farms upon which your admirable system could be ap- 
plied to great advantage and profit. Large portions of territory 
in agricultural districts are now entirely useless, or at least com- 
paratively unproductive, by reason of insufficient irrigation ; and 
these through the appliance of your "New Agriculture," could be 
made vastly more productive ; while the present productive por- 
tions would be increased in productive power through the same 
instrumentality. To the grape and other fruit growers, it seems 
to me, it affords especially inducements for use, which will speedily 
bring it into imperative demand with the large majority of this 
important business class. Through it thousands of agriculturists 
in every state may easily and with little expense make their bar- 
ren wastes to smile with jiroductiveness, and the better portions of 
their farms to double in value by reason of increase in crops. 

But the advantages to be derived from the use of your plan in 
the storage of water for other than agricultural purposes are 
equally apparent, and must eventually bring it into active demand 
and use in localities where the supply of water is now insufficient 
for the requirements of cities and villages ; and by its application 



140 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

many such corporations will be enabled to furnish their citizens 
with good, cool and pure water, in sufficient quantities, and at 
far less expense than they can by any other plan or system 
now known. Of course, whether it can be so utilized as to furnish 
very large cities with sufficient supply is a j^roblem hereafter to be 
demonstrated ; but in our own state, (and without doubt in every 
other state), there are hundreds of smaller cities and thickl}^ pop- 
ulated villages and hamlets, whose inhabitants are now suffering 
great inconvenience, and incurring risks of sickness and death 
from malarial and ej)idemic diseases, from insufficient supplies of 
healthful and pure waters — whose surroundings are such that, by 
the reasonable aijplication of your simjile system for collection 
and storage of water they could each, at much less cost than in 
any other way, be furnished with a permanent and sufficient quan- 
tity of the best of water for all the purposes for which it may be 
required by them. Then too, the hills or mountains surrounding 
or adjoining these places, — often now utterly unproductive, and 
sometimes even unsightly in appearance, — can by this same plan 
be transformed into j)roductive and ornate terraced gardens, far 
excelling in products and profit the ordinary agricultural lands of 
the neighborhood and rivaling in beauty the most famous of the 
ornamental gardens of the old world, — presenting at all times " a 
thing of beauty " to the eye, season by season affording more jyvoi- 
itable remuneration to their owners from the crops and fruits and 
vegetables which shall spring from and adorn their slopes ; and at 
the same time and always affording to the inhabitants of the popu- 
lous places beneath their shades a Ijountiful suj^ply of Heaven's 
"best and only beverage for man. 

I am confident that your system will grow in pojmlarity with its 
use ; and eventually a grateful people, thankful for the blessings 
your invention has brought to their hands, will rank you as a ben- 



THE NEW ACiEICULTURE. 141 

efactor of the human race, who has not only succeeded in making 
two blades of grass grow where one was Avont to appear ; but who 
has also taught them by simple method, and at cheapest cost, the 
way to secure for themselves a sufficiency of one of the most im- 
jDortant of God's gifts to man, and beast, and nature. 

This letter requires no answer — it is written to testify my appre- 
ciation of the merits of the invention of an old friend, and he is 
at liberty to use it as he may deem proper. 

With sentiments of respect I am, as ever, yours truly, 

John Swinburne. 

The case of water jDoisoning, at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, should 
o^Derate as a warning that all over our land water works have been 
and are being constructed, in the sources and supplies of which 
are found the germs of disease and death. AVhatever the source 
of water supply filtration is imiDeratively necessary, except where 
springs or sj^ring brooks discharge their waters so directly into 
reservoirs as to prevent infection, pollution, or even the existence 
of roil. Can waters admixing with those of the surface be render- 
ed pure and healthful, is the paramount question. This brings us 
to the introduction of an article l)y Professor De Smedt, District 
Chemist, of "Washington, D. C, as published under date of June 
26th, the subject being the water of the Potomac river. 

" Is perfect filtration and aeration j)OSsible in a volume of water 
sufficient to supj)ly large cities ? This is a question for the consid- 
eration of engineering science; the chemist can determine only the 
results of the scheme should it j^rove to be j^ractical. 

"Water, in the order of its purity, may be divided into three 
classes: First, rain water, which is the most impure; second, river 
Avater; and third, spring and deep well water, which are the purest. 
The purity of the spring water is owing to the fact that it has been 
filtered and aerated through sandy soil, Avhich is indisj^utably the 



142 THE NEW AcilUCULTURE. 

most perfect j)urifier of Avater containing organic impurities; this 
is demonstrated by natural facts. Spring water, generally so pure 
and limi)id, proceeds from surface waters jDolluted with vegetable 
and animal impurities, but becomes purified during its passage 
through the earth. This evidence furnished by springs, is confirm- 
ed by j)ractical results of the irrigation of sewerage instituted in 
England and France. Finally, the proof is made conclusive by 
analysis and scientific experiments that jDerfect artificial filtration 
can produce water almost as pure as spring water. 

"Water, more or less polluted, having i)assed through a deep 
filter composed of sand, containing a small jDercentage of argillous 
matter, the insoluble jjarticles are stopped at the surface and the 
more minute jjarticles are retained deeper in the body of the filter. 
This is the first result jDroduced, — it is a simple mechanical filtra- 
tion. The water being cleansed of the insoluble matter, descends 
deejJer; each particle of sand is drenched with a thin film of water; 
thus divided, the water offers to the confined air in the earth or 
filter an enormous surface of action. Now commences the second 
effect of i^erfect filtration and aeration, which is the combustion of 
the organic matter in solution in the water. It is a general saying 
that fire purifies everything, and indeed there is no organic matter, 
so impure or so unhealthy, which fire, with the aid of the oxygen 
of the air, will not transform into carbonic acid, water and nitro- 
gen. In the interior of this filter a purification likewise takes 
23lace, not violent and visible like that caused by fire, but slow and 
without any perceptible evidence; nevertheless it is a combustion 
which reduces all organic impurities to carbonic acid, water and 
nitrogen. It is even a more jierfect combustion than that caused 
by fire, producing oxydation of the nitrogen and the formation of 
nitric acid, a result which fire cannot produce. 

" In conclusion, I will say that the filtration and aeration of all 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 143 

river waters would be beneficial, but as to its jiracticability, I beg 
leave to refer the subject to the consideration of those whose prov- 
ince it is to determine such matters." 

The following- extract from the New York Tribune refers to the 
recent epidemic at Plymouth, Penn. : 

" The result of the investigation of the causes of the epidemic at 
Plymouth, Penn., made by Dr. Cyrus Edson and Dr. James B. 
Taylor, of the Board of Health, assisted by the chemist of the 
Board, Dr. Edward W. Martin, will be reported to the Board as 
soon as the analysis of water taken from the Susquehanna River 
where it flows past the town from a mountain stream, from wells, 
and from mines in the vicinity, are completed. The investigating* 
jDhysicians went to Plymouth last Wednesday and returned on 
Saturday. Dr. Edson yesterday told a Tribune reporter what 
they saw and what conclusions they had arrived at. He said: 

" The fever iDrevailing at Plymouth is one of the most interest- 
ing epidemics that we have ever had in this covmtry. The great 
majority of the cases have been caused by one case of typhoid 
fever. That case has inoculated between 700 and 1,000 cases 
almost simultaneously — all within the period between March 26 
and Aj)ril 1. No doubt the infection was sjDread by the water, 
though other causes assisted. The town was just ripe for it. The 
streets were filthy, and the place altogether in bad condition. 
The systems of the people were in a condition that made them easy 
victims to the disease. They had been drinking water polluted 
with sewage. On March 26 a new supply of water was received 
from a mountain stream which had been polluted by the dejections 
of a typhoid fever patient, who was sick in a house near the 
stream. They were thrown on the snow within a few feet of this 
water course. The snow melted and flowed into the stream, the 
water of which, being released bv the melting of the ice that had 



144 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

confined it, soon filled vij) the reservoii's, which until then were 
almost empty. The water passing through the ice and hardly 
exposed to the air reached the reservoirs a little over one-eighth 
of a mile distant. The great outburst of the typhoid fever oc- 
curred between Aj^ril 12 and April 18. The time of incubation of 
typhoid fever is generally from ten to twenty days. "We looked 
into the milk supjily carefully. A few cases were due to that, but 
many who had their own cows had the fever. The epidemic is now 
d^dng out. The water is all right now and was before, but it was 
infected by accident. The river water, although that was hardly 
contaminated, was pumped into the mines for several weeks prior 
to March 26. 

" The result of the investigation only shows the necessity of 
keeping a water supply pure and free from contamination. The 
wells in this city are all worse than any in that town, where they 
are frequently polluted by adjacent filth. I have found 2)eople 
using water from wells dug in this city. I had to arrest John 
Gelston, a large mineral-water manufacturer, a few weeks ago for 
using Avell water in making his beverages. He was convicted 
in the Sj^ecial Sessions and fined $25. I discovered that he was 
using well water by having his mineral waters analyzed. A manu- 
facturer like him can save from $2,500 to $3,000 in Crotou water 
taxes by using well w^ater. Our recent investigation at the Croton 
water-shed shows that there is no reason for ajjprehension on ac- 
count of the pollution of the water at jDresent, but the population 
near the river bank is increasing, and after a while there will be 
danger unless the city purchases the land on both banks for half a 
mile back, or takes some other measures to prevent contamination. 
It would be cheaper to buy the land now than to Avait until the 
danger is imminent and the land dearer." 

Not only at Plymouth but in other towns and cities without 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 145 

number, the streams run dry, or nearly so, not only in the heat of 
summer but in the winter months also, and everywhere " there is 
death in the pot." Nor is the craze to make money by manufac- 
turing tile, having no other purpose than to hurry off the waters 
as fast as possible, in any degree greater, than that of the farmer 
who seizes upon it, paying his money for a curse rather than a 
blessing, and digging trenches regardless alike of exj^ense and 
philosophy, begetting water famines as surely to come in time as 
death and the undertaker. 

There is no reason why the river at Plymouth should have been 
dry in March, nor, indeed, during any month of any year. All the 
springs, brooks, rivulets and rivers of our land can be made, 
should be made, those of perpetual flow. Their waters should be 
pure and undefiled, bringing life, joy, health and happiness to the 
jDeople, instead of being defiled by decay and bearing death to 
animal and vegetable creations. 

Should the doctors continue on with the work they have under- 
taken, which they will surely do, they will succeed in curing nearly 
everybody hitherto sick, and preventing disease in the future. 
They have but to convince mankind that pure water is the source 
of health, and its opposite an equal fountain from which flows dis- 
ease and death, and the world will not be long finding out 
that passing the waters through soils purifies them completely. 

Among all who came to look over our grounds during the sea- 
sons of 1883 and '84, no one made so careful an examination into 
the principle of our system, as the Hon. Charles E. Earley, who has 
a divided residence between Philadelphia and his model hillside 
home at Ridgway, Elk County, Pennsylvania. We say model home, 
since such it cannot fail to become, should the Doctor carry out his 
present intentions of making application of our system to his 
place, demonstrating the utmost of its possibilities. To do this. 



146 THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 

would call for the use of tile, clay or cement, since, unfortunately 
in the light of economy. Dr. Earley is not as well situated as those 
who can with greater economy and facility avail themselves of the 
advantages of our discoveries, as he does not possess what is, 
in due time to be recognized as the greatest of good fortunes, a 
retentive subsoil coujoled with an abundance of stone. Notwith- 
standing this the Doctor was one of the first among friends who 
entered heartily into sympathy with us, carefully examining our 
methods. A man of rare intuition he seemed to discover the whole 
thing at a glance, pronounced us on the right track and predicted 
that our work was one sure to result in making an end of the run- 
ning of the waters in riot over soils ; that the latter could and ulti- 
mately would be so conformed as to pass the waters of rains, dews 
and snows through them, and that waters of streams, jDOols, ponds 
and lakes would be by this means filtered and made pure, and rel- 
atively an end be made of the seeds of fungus now producing de- 
cay and death. Doctor Earley, was, in fact, the first man whom we 
met who agreed with us as regarded this fertile and fundamental 
cause, from which, come the ills to which all flesh is heir. 

Philadelphia, Pa., March 28th, 1885. 
Hon. A. N. Cole, Wellsville, K Y. 

Dear Sir : — Your letter enclosing circular, was forwarded to me 
here from my home at Eidgway, Pa. I see in the circular that I 
am expected to write a chapter on fungi, for your forthcoming vol- 
ume, devoted to the promotion of your new system of agriculture 
and horticulture. 

This demand comes upon me like an electric shock, as I fear that 
the time will be too short to do justice to so important a subject. 
My time is so fully taken uj) with a diversity of interests, that I 
hardly know how to gain the time required to treat a subject of 
such prime importance, since it is one that will not bear hasty 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 147 

iittention. The life, health find happiness of the human family 
depends greatly upon a full and correct understanding of the part 
which fungi occupies in the A'arious diseases with which mankind is 
burdened. AVe might say that to this one cause may be traced a 
greatev part of the diseases known to medicine. The food we eat, 
the water we drink, and the air we breathe are all to a greater or 
less extent impregnated with poisonous fungoid atoms. 

To bring this chapter consistently within the scope and tenor of 
your volume, it will be necessary for me to go into the subject in 
some order and system, and to that end I will divide the matter 
into the following heads : 

Fungi — its action on Man. 

Fungi — its action on Stock Animals. 

Fungi — its action on Vegetation. 

Fungi — its action on Man. — Now in treating the subject under 
this head, I wish it understood that I do not propose to go into a 
technical analysis or treatise on the genera, forms, phases and no- 
menclature of fungi, but rather to speak of it in a general way, and 
of such as exert a baneful influence. 

In order to investigate its action on man, it is but natural that I 
.should examine more especially as to the vehicles that carry the 
deleterious caixse to the circulation and tissues. It may be by in- 
halation, but it is certainly more frequently carried into the system 
by means of food and drink. That fungal spores are constantly 
afloat in the air, is certain, and apart from my own investigations, 
I could cite a number of reliable authorities. 

The experiments of Dr, Cunningham, conducted in India, have 
been convincing on this jooint *" Spores and other vege- 
table cells are constantly present in the atmospheric dust, and 



*From microscopic Examinations of Air, from the 9th Annual Report of the Sanitary Com- 
mission. Cslcntta. 1872. 



148 THE NLW AGRICULTUKE. 

usually occur in considerable numbers ; the majority of tliem are 
living and capable of growth and development." 

" Recently a case occurred at the Botanic Gardens at Edin- 
burgh, ^vhich was somewhat novel. The assistant to the Botanical 
professor was j^reparing for demonstration some dried specimens 
of a large j)uff-ball, filled Avith the dustlike spores, which he acci- 
dentally inhaled, and was for sometime confined to his room under 
medical attendance from the irritation they caused." * 

This seemingly is an endorsement that the air we breathe is at all 
times more or less charged with fungal material, Avhich under certain 
conditions is caj^able of development to such an extent as to 
cause local irritation, and as I well know, from 2^ersonal experience 
and investigation, will at times jDroduce blood jDoisoning with its 
train of concomitant evils. 

Commencing the practice of medicine at the age of twenty-two, 
I devoted my best energies to that j)rofession, during a period of 
about forty years. In April, 1846, I left my native state. New 
York, and settled in the wilds of upper Pennsylvania, where the 
nearest jDhysician was forty miles away. I was thus alon6 in my 
struggle with those enemies of man, — death and disease. To my 
surprise I found, that there was hardly a man, woman or child in 
that whole region in perfect health. On the mountains and hill- 
sides, in the valleys, and in the tow^ns, I found that nearly every- 
one was in some way diseased. 

This was to my mind an anomalous condition of affairs, and be- 
ing of an investigating turn of mind, I sought in every instance, 
where I was called upon to attend the sick, to trace its cause. I 
said to myself, here is my work, which must call forth my full 
energies. Here begins the work of the doctor, which never has, 
can or will end ; to examine into the remote and latent cause of 



*Furigi. M. C. Coole, M. A.. L. L. D. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 149 

disease. It is not only the duty of the physician to help nature in 
the cure of disease, but it is also part of his work to seek out and 
remove the primary cause. He must examine the dwelling inside 
and out, the cellar beneath, the food the family eat ; the water they 
drink and the air they breathe. In fact it is preeminently his duty 
to prevent as well as cure disease. 

It is requisite in investigating for a first cause, that the i^hysic- 
ian should examine closely into the modes and ways and living of 
the j)eople immediately surrounding the patient. One great cause 
of disease of the i^eople with whom I was brought in contact, was 
the ill-advised custom of storing their winter supply of vegetables 
and provisions in the cellars of their houses. It is a fact demon- 
strated beyond the possibility of a doubt, that such a thing as per- 
fectly healthy fruit or vegetable is rarely to be found. The unde- 
tected incipient potatoe rot has frequently done its work of death 
by the production of blood poison. It is almost impossible to find 
an unblemished ajjple, pear, peach, plum, cherry or berry. They 
all have spots or blemish of some kind, and wherever you find fer- 
mentation and decay, you will also find fungi. 

The fungi as germs of disease are always present both in the air 
and food. Go to a market, tell the fruit dealer that you want a 
bushel of apj)les without speck or blemish, and that for that bush- 
el you will give him the price of a barrel. His answer to you will 
be: 

" I could not do that sir, for the price of four barrels, and I 
doubt if I could do it at all." 

This is not only the case with fruit, but with all vegetables and 
cereals. 

Now in view of all this, is it not patent that we are constantly 
taking the germs of disease ? Most assuredly it is. Our circida- 
tion and tissues are full of disease-bearing germs, only awaiting 



150 THE NEV AGKICULTUEE. 

full development and opportunity to do their fell work. Whj^ 
when I think of it in all its details, I am only surj)rised there is not 
more sickness and death. Surprised that there should be any ap- 
parently well jDeople anywhere. Most people eat their food with- 
out a thought as to whether it is pure and healthy, or that diseased 
food can not do otherwise than j)roduce diseased and poisonous 
blood. Go into the gardens of our towns, and those out in the 
country, and examine the growing vegetables. How many of 
them will 3'ou find in a healthy condition ? I think you will fail to 
fiind one single plant that is jDerfect. Either the roots, stalk, leaf 
or fruit will be found affected in some way. Take the water we 
drink. It will not take long, nor will you need the aid of a power- 
ful microscojDe, to convince you of the presence of fungi, or germs 
of some kind. 

Fungi — its action on stock animals. 

As man is only a higher type of animal, it is but natural, that 
that which affects him, will also affect the lower animals ; the only 
difference being that of degree. That which would probably be 
very virulent in man, would be of a milder type in the other. Then 
too the tyi^e of its manifestation might be different, but the same 
first cause will be always i)resent. Poisoned blood and tissues 
produced by poisoned food, water and air. But there is another 
feature that is generally overlooked. There is not so much care 
used in selecting their food and water as is the case with man. If 
the bran or corn meal haj)pens to be a little musty, sour or wormy, 
it is not thrown away. No ; it is fed to the stock. They Avill not 
notice it. If the sides of the water trough are green with slime, 
it is not thoroughly cleansed. They will drink. Cattle are not 
fastidious. If the hay is a little musty, it is not discarded. The 
stock have not very discriminating eyes, they will eat it. If the air 
of the stables reek with ammoniacal gas and have little or no ventil- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 151 

ation, it matters not. The animals do not notice it, or if tliey do, 
they can not remonstrate. But here let me ask, are the people not 
being surely punished ? I think the reply to this would be unan- 
imously affirmative were we able to follow the effect that the ma- 
nures from these animals have on the food cereals brought to fru- 
ition through its use. Not only the human family is suffering from 
this terrible condition and neglect of our soil, thus producing 
fungi, but our stock animals are suffering in an equally bad way. 
The grasses that they feed from in our pastures, and the hay made 
from same and stored for winter use, if examined under a micro- 
scope, will be found to be extensively covered with fungi. This 
bears various titles, such as smut, rust, or mildew, or other names 
applied in different localities. Corn, in many sections, is sowed for 
fodder, and this, uj)on examination, will be found to be in the same 
condition. In this connection I would refer to the recent develop- 
ments in Texas, where cattle were suffering with what a number of 
authorities pronounced contagious j)l6uro-pneumonia; but upon 
investigation, were found to be in a diseased condition, from eating 
of corn that was extensively smutted. Oats with their rust, wheat 
and rye with their ergot and other diseases, all these different pro- 
ductions are alike affected. 

Our writers on the subject of stock, refer frequently to (so-called) 
contagious pleuro-pneumonia. Cows kept for their milk for sup- 
j)lying our large cities and towns, are nearl}^ all fed with this 
mass of poison, and kept in badly ventilated stables, shut up 
and excluded from the air. Congress and our legislatures pass 
laws and appoint commissioners to examine into and destroy all 
stock affected, to prevent the spread of the contagion. They 
never for one moment think of examining the farms and stables, 
and the feed of the animal. In my investigations in the vicinity 
of Philadelphia, into "contagious pleuro pneumonia" (so-called,) 



152 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

I found diseased mucous membrane, the air j^assages thickened, 
congestion of the lining membranes, all more or less congested and 
covered with slime and fungi, so much so indeed, that the smaller 
tubes of the bronchials were collapsed, thus preventing free pas- 
sage of air, consequently making it imjDossible to fully inflate the 
lungs. Not only were the bronchials affected, but I also found the 
throat and mouth extensively covered with slime and fungi. On 
examining into the character of the food which had been fed I 
found that, in many cases, it consisted of malt dust, full of fungi. 
Garbage in some cases was fed, and many different kinds of food 
sujDposed to produce milk rapidly. The grass and hay in almost 
every case, I found to contain mould or fungi in some form. 

Is there such a disease as " Contagious Pleuro-Pneumonia ?" 

I clip the following from the morning papers of Philadelphia, of 
Saturday, June 6th, 1885. 

{From the Becord.] 

" Much excitement has been occasioned among the farmers in the 
vicinity of Pavonia on the northern outskirts of Camden by the 
appearance of the pleuro-pneumonia in the herd of cattle on the 
farm of M. Feenfer. Drs. Miller and Dyer of the State Board of 
Health have investigated the outbreak and believe that the rigid 
quarantine which they have established will prevent the sjpread of 
the disease. The herd of nine cows was purchased last February 
at the West Philadelphia stock yards. Two of the infected ani- 
mals have been killed and the remainder inoculated." 

[From the Times.] 

" A general examination is being made of herds of cattle in 
Camden and Gloucester Counties by Drs. "VV. B. E. Miller and C. K. 
Dyer, of the New Jersey State Board of Health. On the farm of 
M. Feenfer, at Pavonia, near the Camden Water Works, a herd of 
fine cattle is said to be infected with pleuro-pneumonia. The dis- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 153 

ease was brought to the farm by three or four cows which were 
purchased by Mr. Feenfer at the West Philadelphia stock yard iu 
February last. Great care wdll be taken by the authorities to pre- 
vent the spread of the disease and the herd has been quarantined." 

Having had some experience in investigating the causes of dis- 
eases in both man and beast pronounced as " contagious " by many, 
which to my mind were caused by bad food, bad air and bad drink, 
I at once went to Camden, N. J., where we jDrocured a conveyance 
and were taken to the " farm " referred to above, near Pavonia, a 
distance of about three miles from the City Hall, Camden. There 
are about fifty dwellings scattered about this place. On our way 
there we met the two veterinary surgeons or members of the State 
Board of Health, Drs. Miller and Dyer returning from the " Feen- 
fer farm " where they had been visiting the sick cows. On our 
arrival at Michael Feenfer's place about 10 o'clock A. M., we found 
Mr. Feenfer the " farmer " referred to was away with his milk 
wagon selling the milk from the cows not yet dead or dying, and 
would not return before 11.30, so we were introduced to his son, a 
young man about 17 years old, who very kindly showed us all the 
surroundings of the place. 

The " farm " referred to consisted of about four town lots on 
which were erected, one dwelling house, and outhouses, one cow 
stable, one cow shed, a hogpen and a hen-house, situated about one- 
half mile from the Delaware Paver on rather low ground. 

AVe found the stable about sixteen by twenty-four feet, with 
eight stalls on each side, three feet wide. The door opened out 
into the cow shed which was about the same size as the stable and 
open on one side. The stable was low and had loose boards placed 
overhead where hay was kept for feed. There was also a window 
that opened out into the yard, which window and door were the 
only means of ventilation provided. 



154: THE NEW AGRICULTUEE. 

Just in front of this window and door was a cesspool about 
fifteen feet in diameter that took xip the drainage and filth from 
the cow stable, hogpen and hen-house, as well as the drainage 
from the dwelling and all the outhouses. This cesspool was full 
of the very worst of filth. The liquid was as black as tar and they 
had recently filled it with swamp and bog sods, with long swamp 
weeds and grass, as they said "to keep the cows from miring." In 
the stable was found but one cow, the rest of the stalls were full 
of all sorts of trash and filth. The shed was in like condition, only 
worse. 'SVe oj)ened up our inquiries as follows: 

" How many cows have you ?" 

"We had thirteen." 

" How many have you now ?" . 

" Six and this sick one." 

'•What became of the others?" 

"Four died, one we sold and one we gave away." 

" Where are the six ?" 

" In the pasture." 

'• How did your cows get sick ?" 

"We bought one cow from the West Philadelphia stock yard 
about two months ago and in about a week after we bought her 
she had a calf, and in about two days after she had her calf, she 
took sick and died. The cow doctors said she caught the disease 
in the stock yard." 

" Did the calf get sick and die ?" 

" No, the calf was healthy." 

"What did you do with the calf?" 

"We sold the calf to the butchers." 

" Were there any cows sick in the stock yard when you bought 
this one?" 

"Not as we can learn." 





















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THE XEW AGRICULTURE. 157 

" Had there been any sick before or has there been any sick 
there since ?" 

"No, not as we can learn." 

" How many acres of land have yon in your farm ?" 

" We have no land only these lots. "We rent pasture." 

" How many acres do yon rent '?" 

" We rent about three acres for pasture and i>aj sixty-five dollars 
for it." 

We now looked at the sick cow. The young man opened her 
mouth, and upon looking in we found the mucous membrane of the 
throat and nostrils much congested and somewhat inflamed with 
but little dreuliug or slabbering. She had no cough or difficulty 
in breathing. She did not get uj). 

We then went to see the cows in the pasture. This pasture 
bordered upon a swamj) next to the river and was about twenty to 
thirty feet wide and bounded on the other side by a deep swale 
which was again bounded by a swamp over half a mile long. This 
strip of land was divided in the middle by an embankment or dike 
which kept out the tide from the marsh land. 

Therefore there was but this strip of land about fifteen feet wide 
and a little over a half mile long that could be utilized for pasture. 
But no grass was to be seen, save a few roots here and there, and 
these nearly covered by the droppings from the cows. They have 
no other water to drink excej)t that from the swamp which was 
nearly as black as ink. These six cows were piit out there after 
the others died and were kejjt there night and day. They were 
placed there by order of the members of the State Board of Health 
as above (the Feenfers called them the "cow-doctors") and quar- 
antined. They are fed with malt grains, etc., as hereafter ex- 
plained, drink the swamp water and breathe the swamp air. 

On returning to the stable we found Mr. Michael Feenfer the 



158 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

^'farmer," bad reached home. He "nas a very jileasaBt German and 
showed us the feed which they called "malt grains and other stuff." 
There was a large hogshead standing under the before described 
cow-shed, just in frcnt of the door of the stable which was about 
two-thirds full of malt grains and other material, so sour and 
stinking that one could not look into it without getting sick. On 
asking the old man "if the cows liked that kind of food," he said, 
"sometimes they acted as if they did not and it made them cough 
sometimes. 

We inquired as to how much milk they got from the cows, and 
he said they got one hundi'ed and twenty quarts from the thirteen, 
but now' they got about sixty-five from the six. We asked, " how 
much do you get from the sick cow at a milking ?" He said " about 
a pint, and that they fed to the hogs. 

" How many hogs have you ?" 

"We have but five now, two died last fall." 

" What was the matter of the hogs that died ?" 

"They got sick just like the cows, the five are pretty well now." 

Now let us look at this matter clearly, in the light of reason and 
science and what do we find ? Brutes suffering. Human igno- 
rance. Legalized cruelty to dumb animals. Woful w'ant of in- 
telligent investigation, wilful disregard of the very first principles 
of hygiene. 

It hardly seems j^ossible that any one wdth the slightest degree of 
intelligence could make any mistake as to where the primary cause 
of all this sickness laid. Here was a dej^ression or hole made in 
the ground that caught all the surface drainage for say two hun- 
dred feet around it. All the w ash-water from the houses drained 
into it, all the filth from the stable and jjig-pen drained into it, 
every rain washed through the hen-house into it. There was ab- 
solutely no exit for the water. There it was, dammed up, with all 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 159 

the excrement and vegetable matter that could be imaginedj slowly 
putrifying and throwing- off noxious gasses and vajjors. The cows 
were confined in stables that had no means of ventilation save the 
door, and one window, opening out upon this pool of filth. 

The food they got came from this hogshead of malt grains and 
other garbage in a high state of fermentation. This reeking mass 
of stuff was given to support life and make milk. The smell at a 
distance of ten feet was enough to tiirn any stomach. 

This is a graphic but true pen j^icture of the home life of these cows. 
Now the cows are sick and ailing. They must be taken out to pas- 
ture. Mark the keen sarcasm, unintentional it is true, — these ani- 
mals gain one thing by the change, — sunlight. They must eat of 
the rank marsh grass and drink of the fetid marsh water. I no- 
ticed fish in the sluices; but in this marsh water there are none. 
It's pretty bad water that a catfish won't swim in. 

Now taking the character of their food, the air and water into 
consideration, is it any wonder that these cattle should have dis- 
eases of the throat and lungs ? It is a wonder that they have any 
healthy organs at all, and I doubt if they have. 

Mark the ignorant way in which the State Inspector does his 
work. Did he do as we did ? Did he look for a cause upon the 
premises ? No, he contented himself by asking the nearly as ig- 
norant " farmer," — " What made your cows sick ?" and upon receiv- 
ing the reply caught at the pretext, — Ah! that is it, you got them 
from the stock yard. Yes, yes, she brought the infection with her. 

Upon looking up the matter it is impossible to find that any of 
the stock at the stock yard was sick with this disease either before 
or after this cow was purchased. Now, is it likely that the so- 
called infection was brought from the stock yard ? Is it not a 
hundred times more likely that the bad air, bad water, and bad 
feed at the farm induced this disease ? 



160 THE NEW AGRICULTUEE. 

The gases tliat rise from decaying manure are exceedingly poi- 
sonous. The urine from stables of stock contains much more 
j)utrescent matter than manure does, and is therefore more dan- 
gerous. 

Now, as in the case just mentioned, where there is a hollow in 
the stable-yard, which hollow is not drained, it becomes the recep- 
tacle for all the waste that is around the place. The drainage 
from the house, pigpens, and stables drain into it. There is no 
outlet and it must remain there, only to find an exit in eyaporation. 
The animal and yegetable matter settles down in it, fermentation 
begins and is hastened by the heat of the sun. Now when eyaj)- 
orating, the particles of humidity rise from the bottom of this pile 
of corruption, thus producing a current which carries with it the 
j)roducts of jDutrefaction. These products are sometimes j^arasitic 
in their nature. They float in the air, settle on the surface of the 
water, and sift into the food. When taken into the lungs by in- 
spiration, they find resting places in the membranes, where with 
an even temperature of sufiicient height to bring them to active 
life disease results. The same thing occurs when taken into the 
stomach in food and drink. In the first instance they cause dis- 
eases of the mouth, throat and lungs, in the latter, their effects are 
noted in derangement of the stomach and boAvels. 

Should we be asked whether there is any way of avoiding this 
condition of affairs, we unhesitatingly would point you out the 
real reason for all the trouble, and at the same time suggest the 
cure. First comes, fermentalion, then decomposition, the produc- 
tion of fungi in all its forms, and of course this must be followed 
by disease. 

Now to my mind Nature intended that the ground should have 
air to breathe and water to drink, just the same as animals. It 
needs these, not so much for supplying nutriment to vegetation, as 



THE KEW AGRICULTURE. 161 

it does to carry on the great work of assimilation and purification. 
Is it not true that all decomi30sition and filth is converted into in- 
nocuous material in nature's laboratory ? And if so, is it not di- 
rectly caused by fermentation and oxidation ? It is burnt and cal- 
cined into purity. The earth being loose and j)orous, the air forces 
its way into the crevices, and the water j^asses through it from 
above, each, especially the air, supplying fuel to carry on the work 
of purification. 

We will suppose that the water comes to a strata that is imper- 
vious to its onward course. What happens? Simply this, — it 
dams up slowly, inch by inch, forcing out the air as it goes. All 
motion and circulation is stopped. Fermentation and decomposi- 
tion soon begin. The earth is drowned out — suffocated, — dead for 
want of air. How is this ? Water is good for the ground ? Yes, 
but not in this way, the water must be moving constantly. There 
must be a current of air and water and not too much or too little 
of the lattei'. 

This very much desired result can very readily be obtained by 
seeking a water level and j^roper drainage and full control of the 
Avater so that air can follow and leaven through the earth; so also, 
that God's most blessed earth reviver — rain and the dews — may cir- 
culate through it, so that the old water may not for an instant 
rest and start fermentation, always on and away, so that there 
may be plenty of oxygen coming down into its pores, seeking and 
burning out all filth and corruption. To sum up concisely: 

Use Cole's system of capillary irrigation as jjatented by him. 
Thus you get clear of all filth and corruption that is found in these 
miserable cesspools, — they never form. 

You filter all water wherever it strikes the soil from the clouds 
and other places and localities. You convert even what is so much 
contaminated with organic matter and other impurities into jiure 



162 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

water and liold it back in time of over supply, heavy rainfalls and. 
melting- snows, for the use of the soil and vegetation as the wants 
of each may require. 

Should this system be adopted by farmers and dairy-men such 
diseases as the so-called " contagious pleuro-pneumonia" and other 
fatal diseases among stock will be wholly unknown, only adding 
ventilation and stopping the feeding of garbage and decayed and 
fermented foods and fungi. 

On many of the smaller farms grass or hay is raised and stored 
away without careful treatment. Fresh manure is frequently 
hauled from city stables, and spread over land to ferment and rot. 
Upon examination, the class of lands thus treated, are found cov- 
ered with fungi in the shape of devils-bread, puff-ball, toadstools 
and others of different names. Bone dust and other fertilizers are 
also used. Then come the wet spells, and the dry spells, and the 
hot spells, which together keep up a continual fermentation in the 
soil about the roots of crops and grasses. AYe find in many sec- 
tions of the country, places where they raise stock, particularly' 
hogs. These animals are turned into the orchards in the fall or 
late summer, and j^ermitted to eat of the fallen fruit. They are 
therefore allowed to eat freely of rotten and fungi-covered food, 
and, again, are fed upon slo]5s, swill and all manners of filth. As 
a consequence, we hear from many j)arts of the country of hog 
cholera. In all these cases our lawmakers, authorities, and socie- 
ties for the j)revention of cruelty to animals, have never been 
known to open their mouths against this worst of all cruelties to 
the dumb animals. Their food is fed them only to their destruc- 
tion. That which should nourish jDoisons. Bad food, bad water, 
and bad air alike, contribute to their destruction. While poisoned 
food is not only chargeable to fungi, there is also the decaying ve- 
getables in our cellars and surroundings, constantly contamina- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 163 

ting and poisoning the air with its foulness which we are obliged 
to breathe. Thus we have malaria as it is called. This without doubt 
conies from decaying vegetable matter, whether it be from sewers, 
streets, swamps, or from our own vegetable stores, laid away for 
winter use. The custom of spreading fresh manure over our lands 
to rot and ferment, throwing off noxious gasses, is another fruitful 
cause of malaria. 

Fungi — its action on vegetation. 

While I have divided the subject into three heads for the better 
handling of it, yet ai'e they so closely allied in their effects one 
ujjon the other, as to admit of really very little difference. Under 
this last head, we come to a field exceedingly vast, and one over 
which, at the best, can take but a cursory glance. Even had I the 
time to devote to it, I fear it to be too great in extent to go into it 
in detail. That it is a field abounding in speculation, yet fraught 
with vast imjiortance no one can deny. It is of so much import- 
ance as to cause me to hesitate at beginning, as to whether I had 
not better put it first in order, instead of last, Under this will be 
found the fountain head of all the trouble. 

The dry rot has destroyed, without doubt, many thousands of 
dollars worth of valuable timber. We know that in turning the 
soil, we frequently find a stringy, gummy mass of fungi, that runs 
its tentacle like arms in every direction like those of the cuttle fish. 
This it has been proved interferes sadly with the growth of plants, 
grasses and trees. Almost all of the cereals and grasses suffer 
from fungi in some shape. Rust, smut, mildew and caries are 
nearly always j^resent. 

Now is there any remedy ? Is there any way to prevent this 
constant promotion, production, and spread of disease bearing- 
fungi ? 

You may remember, in the last of June, 1883, while I was in 



164 THE NEW AGEICULTUEE. 

Wellsville, that I was invited in company with the Hon. T. L. Min- 
ier, Hon. S. L. Taber, Hon. John H. Selkreg and others, to dine 
with you at your home on the hillside. At your table, we were 
much astonished to see the most delicious fresh peas just picked 
from the vines, and the finest strawberries that all acknowledged 
ever having seen. The question was asked : 

" Where do you get such fine j)eas ? " Your answer was : " they 
were picked from my own garden." 

" "Where do you get such berries ? " 

"They are also picked from my own garden." 

" Come now, Mr. Cole, that will never do," I said, " I was raised 
in Allegany County. This is too early in the season for either 
peas or strawberries. Besides, Allegany never j)roduced such peas 
and berries as these." 

Your reply was, that this was the fruit of your system of under- 
ground irrigation. Y"ou then explained to us j'oiu* system of 
sinking troughs in the ground, and taking up the water as it fell, 
and holding it back, to supj)ly moisture to vegetation as it was 
required. This was entirely a new feature to us all, and after 
dinner, we repaired to your garden, a lot on the hillside, where 
you explained to us your system in detail. The more I examined, 
the more I was astonished to find every bush, twig, stalk, tree and 
fruit perfectly clean and healthy. No rust or fungi of any kind 
whatsoever was to be found. You showed us a stream of water 
coming from the trenches, a continuous, bright and sparkling 
brook, and yet, it was a dry time ; quite a drouth. But in spite 
of all this, we found a stream of water coming from your hillside 
constantly, with no spring to feed it, only coming from the stored 
uj) rains and dews that fell, caught up and garnered by these 
troughs, furnishing a constant vapor to the roots of your vegeta- 
bles and plants, keeping them in uniform condition of moisture ; 



THE XEW AGRICULTURE. 1G5 

never too wet, never too dry. This system made a very deep im- 
jDression upon me, and upon returning home and thinking the mat- 
ter over, you will remember I wrote you a letter, suggesting that 
by the use of natural gas (which must take the place of coal and 
wood for heating purposes) to heat the water in the Fall and 
SjDring, and running steam jnpes through the troughs, (or dropping 
the warm water into them) to keep the water warm, you might raise 
all kinds of j^roduce, and as it were, do away with winter. You 
could do, as I found v, Idle in EuroiDe was done there, j^roduce the 
finest pineapples by use of this warm water system, thus doing 
away with expensive hot houses. In this letter I also suggested, 
that, where you wished to raise "tropical fruits, you could throw a 
canvass over the space, to keep off the winds and snows. All this 
was in the most j)art a joke, as applied to Allegany, but upon re- 
ceiving your reply, I was astounded to read that you had already 
obtained a patent covering these points. 

On the second day of July last, I was again in Wellsville. In pass- 
ing through the streets, I noticed on the corner baskets of straw- 
berries; some were small, diseased looking berries, but alongside 
of them were luscious ones, nearly as large as peaches. Said I : 

" How much are your strawberries ? " 

" These are sold at thirteen cents ; and these at twenty-five a 
quart," was the answer made by the vender. 

" But why should there be such a difference in j)rice ? " I 
inquired. 

" \\hj ! these are Cole's berries." 

" Cole's berries ! "What do you mean by Cole's berries ? " 

" Why ! they are raised here in town, by Mr. Cole." 

" Who is Mr. Cole ? " 

" What ! don't you know A. N. Cole ? " 

" Oh ! 3'es ; he has been termed the father of the Republican 



166 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

party. So lie raised these berries here in town. "Well, I do know 
A. N. Cole, and I think he has succeeded in raising better straw- 
berries than children, for let me tell you, that his Kepublican 
children have given us Democrats a mighty sight of trouble." 

" Yes, sir ; that is so. He generally succeeds with anything he 
undertakes." 

" How many of those berries does it take to make a quart " 

" About twenty to thirty ; I suj)pose an average of twenty-five 
would cover it." 

"Why ! you had better sell them for a cent apiece." 

" Well, they sell at that as fast as lightning. They don't stay on 
hand long." 

Of course I knew whose berries they were, as soon as I saw 
them. It was only a whim of mine to interview the grocery- 
man. 

The next day a party of us were visiting your grounds, and you 
may well remember the liberties taken by me at that time. I then 
had with me a powerful glass, and I was determined to investigate 
matters thoroughly. I examined the roots, leaves, stalks and ber- 
ries of your strawberry vines. I dissected and investigated them 
in every imaginable w^ay, as also the pea idnes, cauliflower, cabbage, 
and in fact all vegetables and vegetation within your grounds ; 
and as I told you at that time, I did not find a single exception, 
wherein a j)lant was not perfectly clean and healthy. No fungi to 
be found anywhere. Eoot, stalk, leaf, twig and fruit all in perfect 
health, and absolutely free from fungus or parasites. Strawber- 
ries larger than plums ; and everything in like proportion. Even 
the timothy and other grasses seemed brighter, fresher and more 
luxuriant. 

Of course, I enquired into the expense per acre of such a system, 
which I cannot pretend to give from memory; I will leave that to 



THE NEW AGKICULTUBE. 167 

you. But allow me to say, that if all lands were, in place of under- 
draining and subsoiling, treated as you do jours; deep trenches 
broad and wide, filled with stones, and covered with soil as yours 
are; fertilized with a comi^ost as you prepare it; having it fully 
assimilated before using — I say, if all this could be done, then, 
and not till then, can we do away with this creation, cultivation 
and dissemination of poisonous fungi, which, as has been shown, 
is working such sad disaster and death to the whole animal and 
vegetable world. 

A few pages back I asked the question, whether the people were 
not being punished for the bad treatment their stock was receiv- 
ing. Now let us see if they are not. We spread out over our fields 
the manure coming from these animals. If they happen to have 
any disease, their excrement is sure to have more or less germs in 
it of the same disease. The manure lies upon the ground, and is 
subjected to the action of the wet and heat, and the chemical influ- 
ence is imparted to the soil. Now the soil is too wet, now to dry; 
there is no happy medium. At one time it is a mass of mud, at 
others it is baked like a brick. There is no golden mean. At all 
events, there is a constant state of fermentation going on. If the 
materials employed could be completely rotted, there would prob- 
ably not be so much harm done ; but where you have vegetable 
matter only partly rotted, you are positively sure to produce fungi. 
This again fastens on the grasses and other products, which are in 
turn, fed to man and stock. Can any sane man for an instant 
doubt, that this continuous production and consumption of fungi, is 
not bound to produce the most disastrous results. Must this dis- 
ease producing system go on forever in the same channel ? Must 
no one raise the voice of warning, and call attention to it ? Must 
no one point with pregnant finger to the signs of its fell work ? 
Are not the facts spread out that " he who runs may read?" Oh ! 



168 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

farmers and truckers, if you will not be warned for humanity's 
sake, take heed and notice tlie conversation had between myself 
and the groceryman. The j^rice of the healthy berries was twice 
that of the jDOor ones. If the good of mankind will not move you 
to pity and a change of method, let your pockets plead with you. 
Try the exjijcriment, as tried at the •' Home on the Hillside," and 
see if your wallets will not be considerably distended, and the lives 
and health of yourselves and families preserved and lengthened. 
Yours Truly, C. E. Earley. 

Such cities as Philadelphia, Pa., Syracuse, Elmira, and Bingham- 
ton, in N. Y., Paterson, N. J., Wilmington, Del., and others we might 
mention are situated on what are called river bottoms, and yet, so 
far above high water mark, as to make drainage into rivers not 
only easy, but perfect. "Whether, for the systems of sewerage al- 
ready arranged, our methods could be substituted we cannot at 
j)resent decide, but have no doubt of its practicability. That the 
municipal authorities of towns and cities thus located, could be in- 
duced to make the change, is doubtful. In all portions of Europe, 
beneath the dwellings in cities, towns and villages, on the grounds 
of kings and nobility, and those of the peasant and the pauper, 
the damj^s and decays generative of disease, bringing death be- 
fore its time, are found. The same is relatively true of the older 
cities of ovir own country. But younger cities and towns are in- 
creasing in population, and new ones continually developing, and 
with these at least, an effort should be made to obtain aj^ure water 
supply. The fact is distressing and astonishing that such cities 
as St. Paul, Detroit and thousands of others, developed and devel- 
oping in different portions of our country, should have no provi- 
sion made for conserving the rains and snows falling upon the 
roofs of dwellings, barns, stables and other structures, or running 
off from the lawns, gardens and grounds of the people. 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 169 

Keeping watch of the measures proposed and methods being 
adopted to purify the waters, and add sufficiently to the suj^ply of 
Croton to furnish the City of New York with at least five times the 
j^resent amount of good drinking Avater, we knew to a mathematical 
certainty that it could be accomplished if the water that falls annu- 
ally in the form of rains, dews and snows was j^reserved. We 
also knew full well that the possibilities of our system were not 
reached when, nearly two years ago, the Hon. "Warner Miller, hav- 
ing looked somewhat into this question of saving, purifying and 
utilizing these waters remarked as follows: 

" I confess to being unprepared for your claims, Mr. Cole, and yet, 
if what you anticipate can be only partially realized, the State of 
New York alone, is capable of sustaining a population of one hun- 
dred millions." 

The Senator alluded more particularly to Herkimer County and 
the Mohawk Kiver, great, if not the greatest among counties, and 
grand among the grandest of our rivers, now moving turbidly on, 
its waters as unlike those of an hundred years ago as clay is unlike 
crystal. What is true of the Mohawk, is equally true as applied 
to nearly all the rivers of the older settled portions of our country. 
The waters of these are filled with roil for a large portion of the 
year, and are always polluted ; our springs are dried ujd, and when 
not wholly so, their waters mix and mingle with drains in which 
death and decay widespread and prevailing, are borne by rains 
into the streams supplying towns and cities with water for cooking 
and drinking purposes. 

We have known for years, that, unless means are j)rovided for 
fitting and rendering the waters of these rivers and their tribut- 
aries pure, fungus, deadliest enemy of vegetable and animal life, 
woidd go on with its work of decimation and death, and not only 
the fish would die out and disappear, but disease everywhere 



170 THE NEW AGEICULTUEE. 

would increase, and our i^eojile, more especially those dwelling in 
large towns and cities, would not live out half the days allotted to 
man. Equally well had we become satisfied that the stagnation of 
the waters could be provided against and by passing them through 
soils, they could be jDurified and rendered crystal clear and cool; 
kept from freezing in winter and held sufficiently cool -in summer, 
to be more grateful and healthful than ice water. 



CHAPTEE VI. 



RECLAIMING THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 



Months ago an article appeared, in the Scientific American from 
the pen of Professor John Le Conte, on the subject of the arid 
regions of our country, commonly called the Great American 
desert. Not possessing a file of the paper and having preserved 
only a mere scraj) of this article, we are unable to quote more than 
the following: 

" A vast treeless region, stretching away from the eastern base 
of the Rocky Mountains and the great plains, plateaus and basins 
lying west of the same range, and constituting the arid region, 
embracing more than one third of the entire area within the terri- 
torial boundaries of the American Union." 

After giving a description of this vast desert. Professor Le Conte 
proceeds to show such conditions existing as to make the lands of 
this region only productive by means of irrigation, and gives it as 
his opinion that, were every spring, rill, rivulet and lake of this 
entire region made available, not more than three per cent of the 
desert could be reclaimed. We had solved at the time this article 
came under our eye the problem of the conservation of the waters, 
and were not, in any degree, disheartened on account of this 
gloomy picture, but rather greatly encouraged by the fact that the 
Professor re-enforced our previous knowledge by his account of 
the great water preserves of this section — the ices and snows lying 



172 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

upon the summits of the mountains or within the great basins, 
during most of the summer jDeriod of each year. Often had our 
mind dwelt upon the wastes of war, and after finding out the way 
of the waters, we frequently reverted to the fact that, if the money 
spent during the last half century in the support of armies and 
navies, and the prosecution of wars, had been diverted to construct- 
ing a canal along the northern incline of the African Continent, 
dropping the waters coming of the melting of snows on the Mount- 
ains of the Moon down upon the Sahara, this great desert of Africa 
might have been made to blossom as the rose. 

In our earliest childhood we noted that the spring smoked in mid- 
winter, and that evaporation went on amid frosts. We had dug 
earth worms for fishing in the neighborhood of springs when the 
ground was still frozen only a few feet away, and all through life 
W'e had kept our eye on the grass green growing as the snow^s of 
winter melted about the sjDring. Dakota's great wheat fields, with 
their deep laid foundations of frost, had not escaped attention, and 
the warm suns of March and April shining upon these fields and 
bringing early germination and steady growth until harvest time, 
told the story of the waters beneath at sjoring water temperature. 
Nor had the conditions along the Alps and Appenines escaped our 
attention, where, underlying in pockets of soil, the water coming of 
melting snows, furnished not only moisture for the vine, but inspir- 
ation to its growth. Authentic information had been received of 
such an increase of production and improvement in flavor of the 
fruit of the vine, as to convince us that the same simple methods 
might be made use of to transform the arid regions of our own 
country into those of boundless fertility and wealth. 

That our great desert is a treeless region, or one nearly so, is 
true, nor can it ever be otherwise until the time shall come for 
husbanding the waters, and making use of them in a way to pre- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 173 

vent penetration of the frost to the dei>th to which they descend 
under existing conditions. That the reserve coming of melting 
ices and snows woukl in-ove efficient for this j)urpose if halted, 
held back and permitted to find their way into the valleys through 
the soils of this vast region, rather than over and along them as 
hitherto, there is no doubt in our mind. DeejD trenching would 
doubtless become necessary, since to drop the waters below the 
frost line it would perhaj^s become imperative to sink the trenches 
to a depth of five or six feet. That this work will be done at a 
comparatively early day we have but little doubt. A few acres 
deep trenched upon the treeless mountain sides of Montana, Da- 
kota or Wyoming, would tell the story. In this way, and this only, 
can forest and fruit trees be grown and the j)rairies, plains, valleys 
and mountain sides be clothed with that wilderness of wealth found 
primeval in the Atlantic regions, and indispensable to permanent 
prosperity. 

But here comes in the question, who shall begin the work, or, 
once begun, by whom or by w^hat means shall it be pushed forward ? 
That the United States Government, cooperated with and aided 
by great railroad companies, to which grants have been made of 
lands so extensive as to appear to the ordinary observer acts of 
prodigality, should enter at once i;pon the work of reclaiming the 
desert, is so evident as to scarcely call for argument. In Mr. 
Stewart's book, page 166, from which we again quote, is found the 
following: 

" Irrigation of land is an art that has existed for many centuries 
previous to any authentic written history. The traditions of the 
Chinese people are very ancient, and irrigation is mentioned in 
their earliest history, as extensively practiced. In Egypt, Syria, 
and the ancient kingdoms of Eastern Asia, agriculture depended 
almost wholly upon irrigation, and still so depends in these coun- 



174 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

tries, where the j^eople have survived the jDolitical changes of 
thousands of years. 

"The irrigation of gardens, vineyards, and fiekls, is frequently 
referred to in the Scriptures; one of the earliest books speaks of 
it, and one of the prophets refers to ' furrows of the plantation.' 
And so agriculture has continued to the present day, the necessi- 
ties of the majority of cultivators of the soil in the Eastern Hemis- 
j)here, and the natural opportunities possessed by them, continu- 
ing to render the system vital to their existence. "When the Span- 
iards occupied the new found continent, they introduced their sys- 
tem of irrigation wherever the dryness of the climate demanded it. 

"In Chili, Peru, Central America and Mexico, the canals and 
ditches made by the early Spanish settlers remain, and many are 
still in use. The systems adopted in California, Texas, New Mex- 
ico and Colorado are mainly copied from the ancient models. It 
is hardly necessary to say that these models are not of the best 
construction, nor at all satisfactory to the engineer of the jjresent 
day, but they are cheap and easy of construction. The settlement 
of the drier regions of our territory, adds another instance to those 
of past history of the reclamation of the deserts by irrigation. It 
will be of interest to glance over what has already been done in 
this way, before considering jDOSsibilities of the future. The actual 
liistor}' of irrigation in the United States begins with the construc- 
tion of the Pacific railroads. In the course of a few years, a great 
impetus, was given to the settlement of lands adjacent to the rivers, 
and which could l)e brought under irrigation, and several exten- 
sive works were constructed." 

Here follows an enumeration of many canals of great length, 
cost and capacity, and their endless adjuncts, by w^hich thousands 
of acres have been, in the aggregate, reclaimed, and from having 
been an utter waste made more productive than an equal area in 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 175 

regions of rainfall. What is more marvelous is the fact, that what 
has been accomplished in this direction has been done by individ- 
ual and corporate enterprise. That companies constructing these 
works have niade money is true in a majority of instances, and 
happy should everybody be on account of it. The corporations 
and individuals who have had the fortitude to act as pioneers, have 
been the greatest of benefactors. Even Brigham Young and his 
polygamous church of Latter Day Saints, have not proven an un- 
mitigated scourge. Great good has come out of a Nazareth, 
which, in certain of its aspects, presents the features of the Sodom 
and Gomorrah of the present age. Merest beginning has however 
been made. 

Our " New Agriculture " dates not only a new era in irrigation, 
but is sure to date one equally new in government policies. The 
old saw " Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm," is in all 
probability soon to be verified in a way, which scarcely one in a 
million of the American people have yet dreamed. While kings 
and nobles of the Old World are quite generally looking to war as 
a means of employment for their pauper classes, and the lazaroni 
seem equally inclined to prefer the chances of death on battle 
fields and in camps, to lives of toil without sufficient remuneration 
to make life worth the living, an opportunity presents itself to our 
government and people to do that which wall give employment and 
bring to the present and future generations more of real wealth 
than all the mines of the earth contain. 

The unthinking citizen and the conscienceless demagogue alike, 
have been clamoring of late for acts of practical confiscation of 
the lands granted to companies to aid in construction of lines of 
railway across the continent. We do not hesitate to say that for- 
feiture of some of the grants should be made. This is never- 
theless the exception to that rule of law and logic which for- 



176 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

bids government from so far disregarding its own deliberate 
act, as to hold individuals and corporations to arbitrary com- 
pliance with the letter of acts under which grants have been 
made. The railroad company, dej)endent upon the sale of its lands 
and disposition of its stocks and bonds, is hardly dealt by when 
government, from having been its jDatron and promoter, turns 
about and becomes a bear to destroy its credit and bring upon its 
ward distress and disaster akin to ruin. 

That our government can make millions of dollars for the people, 
by entering ujDon a system of reclamation covering the more hope- 
ful portions of its desert lands, is so manifest, as to make argument 
to prove it unnecessary. No longer ago than 1873, under an act of 
Congress, approved March 3rd of that year, a commission was 
organized to examine the great valleys of California, with refer- 
ence to construction of a system of irrigation. The report of this 
commission will be found in the yearly volume of the Department 
of Agriculture for 1874. Commenting on this report Mr. Stewart 
remarks : 

" The conclusions reached may be seriously questioned in many 
points, but on the w^hole are, as might have been exi^ected, favor- 
able, both to the profitableness and feasibility of irrigation works, 
and to the interference of the national and state governments, 
and their control over the distribution of the water." 

Commenting further, Mr. Stewart proceeds to say : 

" By no other authority could the conflicting interests of miners, 
agriculturists and owners of lands to be injured or benefited by 
the enterprise, be projjerly reconciled. In Europe, the supreme 
control is exercised by, and the ow^nership of the w ater vested in, 
the State. The French government in 1669, by special law, re- 
served the ownership of all rivers and streams, and grants conces- 
sions to irrigating companies under certain restrictions. In Italy, 



THE KKW AGRICULTURE. 177 

the State has always exercised this ownership, and in Venice the 
springs and even the rainfall, so far as it can be stored in res- 
ervoirs, have been held to be jDublic property. In India, the 
sj)rings and rainfall are accumulated in reservoirs controlled by 
the government, and the river systems are also owned by it. Not 
only this, but the details of the distribution of the water are also 
directed by government officials. This is made necessary, however, 
by the utter incapacity of the ignorant inhabitants to manage any- 
thing for themselves that calls for more than a very low degree 
of intelligence. Lest, however, it might be urged that govern-, 
ment ownership and suj^ervision is likely to lead to failure, the 
actual results attained in India may be very properly here cited. 
During recent years, the British government has spent about sev- 
enty millions of dollars, in irrigating works, and others are in 
l^rogress of construction which will require half as much more to 
complete them. In almost every instance, the investment has 
been profitable, and in some cases enormously so, both in the way 
of water rent, and in service to the cultivators of the soil. The 
total annual revenue to the government from the works is more 
than five millions of dollars, or seven and three-fourths per cent on 
the cost." 

And so it is that national, state and municipal governments of 
our own covmtry are brought face to face with a system of irriga- 
tion so easy of realization, as to only require the ajDplication of 
laws everywhere governing in nature, giving them an opj)ortunity 
to work out for themselves results at once universal, all pervading 
and endless in cycles of beneficence. While Great Britain is engaged 
in India not only in the construction of reservoirs for the storage of 
the waters of springs and streams, but for gathering in the rains 
and dews for purposes of irrigation, spending millions annually in 
creation of works for that i'>urpose. and other millions iii keeping 



178 THE NEW AGRICULTUKE. 

them in repair, our own country, possessing a domain of A'aster ex- 
tent than that of any nation of the world and of incomparably 
greater value, has only to enter upon her own possessions, and by 
trenching her mountain sides beget reservoirs as enduring as the 
foundations of earth. Let no one doubt that the alkaline deposits 
in the Great Desert lands will be removed from the soil by this 
running of the waters through them, leaving only such proportions 
of alkali as is required for the best develoj^ement of plant growth. 
But whence will come the money with which to do this work is 
the question. Our answer is, let such policies be pursued by 
governments, state and national, as will encourage and foster in- 
dustries. Let the world find out that intoxicating liquors used as 
a beverage are a curse, and j)rovide for the suppression of their sale 
as such. This will save thousands of millions of money and count- 
less numbers of lives annually. Let our schools and churches, Sun- 
day schools and educational institutions and agencies generally, 
frown upon, discourage, and ultimately j)rohibit the production and 
use of tobacco, a greater curse, if j^ossible, than rum. Let no party 
as such, attempt these reforms, but let the work be done by men 
and women everA^where, irrespective of party or sect. Last, not 
least, let pure water be everywhere sought, and let the waters be 
nowhere wasted, but made to do their perfect work everywhere. 



CHAJPTER VII. 



THE EXPENSE OF THE NEW SYSTEM. 



" It costs five hundred dollars to fit a single acre under Cole's 
system," exclaims an occasional critic. " "\i\Tiat farmer can afford 
such an outlay?" 

" Not one in a thousand, probably not one in ten thousand," is 
our own answer. 

Never have we suggested such cost for farm lands. So far as 
■we are personally concerned, we have nearly finished work on five 
acres, having in view the utmost possibilities of production in hor- 
ticulture. No plat of land equaling our five acres can be found 
on the face of the earth. Were it within an hour's run by rail of 
any of our larger cities, this plat would be worth more money 
than any equal area not under glass in the world. It would be 
worth more than any greenhouse, costing from ten to twenty times 
as much. In the mere fitting of this land, the cost has not 
exceeded $1,500. Here are the figures, moneys expended for all 
purposes, sober facts that do not lie : 

Expenses for 1882, not exceeding $300; for 1883, about $500; for 
1884, not exceeding $800. This has been my investment uj) to 
April 1st, 1885. I have this season expended about $700 up to this 
this date August 13, 1885. Thus twenty-three hundred dollars 
has fitted my land, j^lanted it to trees and plants, cared for and har- 
vested and marketed all products, paid for manures etc., and during that 
period has returned at least $500 in excess of expenses. 



180 THE KEW AGKICULTUKE. 

Over and again have we endeavored to undeceive tlie public in 
regard to this matter of cost, but in vain. Barely one agricultural 
paper in the land has sought to aid us in this; all others, so far as 
■we are aware, have striven to increase the extent of the false esti- 
mate. The Husbandman, however, jDublished at Elmtra, N. Y., has 
not only treated us fairly, but generously. As this great paper is 
an organ of the Grange, and the medium through which the famed 
farmers of the Chemung Valley make themselves heard, its voice is 
2)otential. 

Mr. James McCann, President, and Mr. George W. Hoffman, ex- 
President of the Farmers' Club of Elmira, together with Mr. W. 
A. Armstrong, the latter ha\ing no superior among agricultural 
editors of our State, have reputations quite as great as those pos- 
sessed by most of the eminent men of the agricultural press. 
These have carefully examined " The New Agriculture," and 
will vouch for the fact that we have never advised exj^end- 
ing more than from thirty to fifty dollars an acre on farm lands ; 
yet we projjose to fit fifty acres at a cost not to exceed one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars ])ev acre. Thus fitted, ova* lands for agricul- 
tural and horticultural jDurposes combined, will doubtless return 
good profits on an outlay of from three to five hundred dollars 
per acre for the full fifty acres. 

My five acres will return when in full bearing, at least five hun- 
dred dollars to an acre in home markets. The remaining forty- 
five acres in farm croj)s will without doubt average fifty, possibly 
an hundi'ed dollars an acre net annually. I leave the reader to 
maka his own figures and decide whether it will pay. The con- 
clusion thus far reached by myself, having tried " The New Agri- 
culture," is, that no business i^ays as well as farming and garden- 
ing, under systems of subsurface, subterranean or underground- 
irrigation. 



.>TrS»irp'*V!Sip»»-?'#W?*f^^^ 



f-S 








THE NEW AGEICULTUEE. 183 

The following- communications addressed respectively to us and 
to tlie Editor of The Farm Journal, of Philadelphia, by a farmer 
who has adopted our system, is evidence of the fact that one hun- 
dred dollars per acre will cover the cost of fitting lands under " The 
New Agriculture," for horticultural purposes. 

IVIainsbukg, Pa., Sept. 21, 1885. 
Hon. A. N. Cole, 

Dear Sir : — I find in the Farm Journal for September, edited by 
Mr. W. Atkinson, of Philadelphia, the following mention : 

" Mr. Cole's new agriculture is not likely to be extensively imi- 
tated. It cost him $500 an acre to make the stone ditches, and 
yet, he has it patented." 

I am satisfied this criticism by Mr. A. is to be ascribed to his 
want of knowledge upon the subject. If he can be undeceived, ^nd 
enlisted in favor of your system, he would prove a powerful ally. 
I enclose a letter which I have written him, and if you approve it, 
I will request its publication. 

I finished my little model farm a week ago, and have set a few 
rows of strawberries, which are looking finely. It has been fitted 
to the letter in obedience to your directions — first, well rotted ma- 
nure plowed in; next well rotted manure and. leached ashes drag- 
ged in; then two inches thick of fine washings from barnyard, 
where it had lodged on upper portion of the garden. The mulch- 
ing with leaves will be attended to at proper time, and any other 
suggestions you may make will be gladly adopted. 

Leading from the barn which is eighty feet long is an under- 
di'aiu which carries off quite an amount of water during rains. 
The surface water from the side hill, and water from the eave- 
troughs, together with that from the drain under the wall of the barn, 
is gathered in to prevent washing through the barnyard. This addi- 
tional supply is connected through an underdraiu into the trenches. 



184 THE KEW AGEICULTURE. 

I do not see why the longing for perfection which is presumed 
to be natural to most minds, is not satisfied by your system, nor do 
I see why you may not now say, " what more can I do in my vine- 
yard, that has not been done in it ? " 

Yours Respectfully. 

E. R. Maine. 

In explanation of the above our readers need hardly be told 
that its author is one of several who began work under our sys- 
tem. Mr. Maine has done his work in a way to insure success. 
His thoroughness in the matter of manuring, will secure returns 
the ensuing year. Had he manured less at the outset, it would 
have required a year or two longer to show the effects of the 
system, but time has been gained and that is an important con- 
sideration. 

The following communication was addressed by Mr. Maine to 

the Editor of The Farm Journal : 

IVIaixsburg, Pa., Sept., 21, 1885. 
Mr. W. Atkinson, 

Deae Sir : — Having seen the working model of Mr. Cole's new 
system of irrigation at Wellsville, Allegany County, N. Y., I was so 
favorably impressed as to induce me to fit a small piece of land, 
intending fully and fairly to test its merits. So far I can only 
report upon the cost. 

To fit an acre as I have done for horticulture, takes eighty rods 
of trench, and sixteen rods for drain. I enclose diagram of one 
acre, 8 x 20 rods. First trench lengthwise one rod from side of 
the plat ; the next, two rods below the first, making in all four 
trenches twenty rods long, and two rods apart. The cross drains 
are eight rods apart in the middle, and four rods from the ends. 

The maximum cost for digging the trenches in any soil, 3i ft. 
deep and 2 ft. wide is 75 cents per rod, and the cross drains 35 
cents, making $65.60 per acre. (See diagram on following page.) 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 



185 



It will be safe to say that the entire cost of labor will be less 
than one hundred dollars per acre. In this section the stone for 
filling in are of no value, and the work of filling- is comparatively 
light. 

As a farmer, and interested personally like yourself, I write 
this more especially that The Farm Journal may not occupy a 
false position inadvertently. If one half of what the system 
appears to be is true, it is the biggest thing that was ever thought 
of since the world was made. If land can be made to produce 
all it is capable of doing by an equable supply of moisture and 
the element of uncertainty removed in farming, the cost of pre- 
paring the land would be small, compared to the benefits received. 
If the cost is all, Mr. Cole's system is an assured success and it 
ivill win its way whether favored or opposed by the press. 

TWENTY KODS. 





First trench. 






Second trench. 




1 Third trench. 

1 






Fourth trench. 





Cross drains. Cross drains. 

In fairness, we should, it seems to me, withold an opinion, 
while awaiting developments, and if there is anything likely to 
interpose in favor of the farmer, in Heaven's name let us not op- 
pose it. 

If you can consistently publish the statement herein made, it 

would, I feel, tend to correct a prevalent error, and would be 

esteemed a favor by your friend and well wisher, 

E. R. Maine. 

Though several doubters have not omitted to say that our system 

is one calling for expenditures causing the average farmer, should 



186 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

he adopt it, to start back in fear of bankruptcy, we have in no 
instance controverted their statements, preferring to appeal to the 
public through the medium of our book. We now say, once for 
all, that the fitting of lands from year to year with the plow and 
the spade, and their fertilization by methods hitherto in vogue, are 
waste and extravagance by the side of those called for in " The 
New Aerriculture." 



4^ 



em- 









. . 'i^^- yi^T^^*■i-\ feSj^/'.'"-.: >^5»^piSf 







CHAPTER vrn. 



1850 — 1885-"the home on the hillside" then and now. 



Mr. William Pooler, one of our present neighbors, built in 1853 
and resided in the house now known as " The Home on the Hill- 
side." He forwards us the following communication. 

" I think it was about 1850, that I purchased the place on which 
you now live. Wellsville was then in the woods, and the Erie 
road had been built through from New York to Dunkirk. I had 
been familiar with hardpan lands in Chenango and other counties 
of the Southern Tier, and had done something of subsoiling in 
more ways than one, and had become convinced that Allegany 
hardpan had only to be projoerly treated, and it could be made 
rich and j^roductive. My hillside had been cleared for several 
years being one of the earliest lots improved in what is now Wells- 
ville, then the town of Scio. 

'' There was an old orchard on the place, and also a tree 
which I shall never forget. It was not in the orchard but stood 
by itself, a little to the northwest of the house, and was a Roxbury 
russet; no more worthless fruit could have been anywhere found. 
Yesterday (Sept. 22, 1885) I plucked from this tree two aj^ples; 
one the smallest I could find, the other of average size of those 
with which the tree was so loaded as to bow its branches to the 
ground upon which the lower limbs rested. I should judge there 
were twenty-five bushels of apples on this tree two thirds grown. 



190 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

These apples on the first of October in the years 1853, '51 and '55 
did not average larger than crab apj^les at that time of year. They 
were not so large at harvesting as the small one I picked yester- 
day, nor "were they quarter as large as most of the apples on the 
tree at this time. The tree was then about ten years old, and was 
covered with moss and in all respects of no value, and I threaten- 
ed at the time to cut it down as a cumberer of the ground. I 
should guess that the tree might possibly have borne two bushels 
of apples in a bearing year, and we did not jjretend to gather 
them. The apples now on the tree are large, fine and fair; in fact, 
they are the finest russets I ever saw. 

" You showed me Early Rose potatoes grown this year, the like of 
which I never saw anywhere. Some of these weighed from a pound 
to a pound and a half ajjiece, and I should think one would weigh 
two pounds. You assured me that you had grown them at the 
Tate of over one thousand bushels to the acre the present season, 
and I have no reason to doubt it. As there is no fungus on your 
grounds, there is no rot. The tomatoes all over the town are rot- 
ting, but I did not observe any rotten ones on your 2>lace, and I 
certainly never saw such splendid fruit, nor anything like as many 
to the plant. 

" I gave you an account of my experiment with two acres of po- 
tatoes in 1854, and here repeat it. The j^lot on which I planted is 
a portion of the ground now embraced in your garden, on which 
this year has been grown such crops as I never set eyes on before. 
I fitted these two acres with greater care and painstaking than any 
equal amount of ground in my life, mixing a portion of the sub- 
soil with that of the surface, and covered it deep with well rotted 
barnyard manure, making it very rich. A careful man and a good 
farmer j^lanted the two acres to potatoes on halves, and I realized 
just thirty bushels for my half. This completely discouraged me 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 19'1 

and though there was then no better house in Wellsville than the 
one I had built upon the i:)lace, and the barn was nearly new, I 
gave up and sold the property for what I could get. You told me 
yesterday that you valued your two acres completed at $5,000 an 
acre, and that it was paying well at that. As five thousand dollars 
at six j)er cent, interest only gives $300, I do not wonder, since I 
am sure you are getting two or three times that from an acre. I 
have seen the strawberries and other fruits and vegetables as sold 
in this market for the last three or four years and have eaten of 
the fruit, and have never seen anything anywhere near as large, 
beautiful and fine flavored. 

" You yesterday showed me pods of peas, and I carried home 
specimens with eight peas in a j^od, of such marvelous siz e, as to 
astonish me. The peas were of the dwarf variety, as shown by 
the vines, and yet they were as large as Delaware grapes. You 
assured me you grcAv five hundred bushels of pods to the acre of 
these peas, and I believe you, since your Champions of England, 
on vines higher than any man's head, loaded with pods and still 
covered with blossoms, presented such a sight as I never saw 
before. Your squashes, beets, cabbage and catiliflower were all 
very fine, and as for the squashes, I never saw anything in my life 
so astonishing. Though quinces are rarely grown in Allegany 
County, I saw as fine ones as I ever came across anywhere. 

" Nothing so much surprised me as the change wrought in the 
soil. The cold clay and hardpan had been turned into a soil, deep, 
soft and very rich, growing all forms of plants, bushes and trees 
to perfection. You say your system wipes out the hardpan, and it- 
certainly does. 

"This latter feature of your plan surprised me more than any 
other, but j)erhaps I should except from this your spring brook, 
and that stream of jDure cold water, flowing out from the pipe in 



192 THE NEW AGEICULTUEE. 

the rear of tlie liouse, there being no springs on this part of the 

place. Nobody can look down into your trenches where open, and 

see the long stretches of sjoring water in them as I did, and not 

discover that you save all the water Avhich falls upon the hillside, 

using what is needed for the growing crop and the remainder, by 

far the greater portion, running off in purity. Though before my 

visit of yesterday, I was convinced your system was a success, I 

left your place jDreiJared to say what I now do. 

" Your discovery has no equal, nor do I believe anything will 

hereafter be discovered so important to the health and prosperity 

of the people. 

William Pooler. 

Mr. Pooler's statement is one in accord with the testimony of 
everyone who has looked over our place, and yet his evidence is 
most convincing from the fact that he personally tried the experi- 
ment of making farming an object on the land we now possess, 
and though doing his utmost at a time when the demand for farm 
products in home markets exceeded the supj^ly, failed to make 
farming a Success, owing to the paucity and poverty of the pro- 
ducing soil. 

Let us now, in turn, post the books : 

We have grown the present year Early Eose potatoes without 
Tot, larger, finer and better than any we have ever seen in our 
entire life, at the rate, at least, of twelve hundred bushels to the acre. 

We have grown strawberries of extraordinary size and flavor at 
the rate of three to four hundred bushels per acre. 

We have grown raspberries five hundred bushels j)er acre. 

We have become convinced, from experiments made already, 
that next year we will be enabled to grow blackberries exceeding 
in quantity to the acre the growth of our raspberries. 

We have grown a few clusters of grapes on newly set vines to 





6 




C^ 




1/ 



mr 



THE MEW AGKICULTURE. 195 

such size, beauty and perfection, as to convince us tliat five pounds 
of superior quality can be grown under our system where one can 
be produced under established methods. 

We have grown marrow fat peas to nearly or quite double the 
size of the ordinary product at the rate of upwards of five hundred 
bushels of pods to the acre ; we have also grown an equal number 
of bushels to the acre of pods of McLean's dwarf varieties and 
have now growing, a drill of the Champions of England, loaded 
with pods promising U2:)wards of a thousand bushels iter acre, at 
least. 

We have grown the ordinary blood beet to a length of three and 
a half feet, and become convinced that these may be more than 
doubled in length under the best conditions of our system. 

We have brought out from our hillside a flowing well of crystal 
^vaters of a degree of purity and temperature to grow brook 
trout. 

We are convinced, that what we have done in the growth of the 
friiits of the earth can be done in all regions of hills, valleys and 
undulations, and that too, at a cost in fitting farm lands, of no 
more than fifty dollars per acre, and, in a majority of instances, 
not exceeding thirty dollars. 

We are convinced that models as perfect as our own can be pre- 
pared at an expense of no more than two hundred dollars per acre, 
and in a majority of instances they will cost no more than one 
hundred dollars per acre. 

Of the fruits pictured along the pages of ovir book, we will only 
say that the quince, measuring twelve inches in circumference is 
no more than three-fourths grown. We grew specimens in 1882 to 
the circumference of fifteen inches, the size of a pint bowl. That 
the specimen protographed Avould in a month longer have grown 
to a circumference of fifteen inches, we are well convinced. 



196 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

The largest sijecimen of the Lombard plum, a drawing of which 
is given, is somewhat less than another stolen from the tree be- 
fore fully rijDe. None of the pictures of the plums come up to the 
reality, since we were obliged to pluck them before fully ripe, to 
save them from being stolen. 

During- a visit to onv home by Mr. "William C. Harris, on Sep- 
tember 17, we plucked a head of early Paris cauliflower, which 
had grown in twelve days to the circumference of thirty-one 
inches. This was measured in the presence of Mrs. Harris. At 
same date, we dug one hill of Early Rose potatoes, the vines by no 
means dead, but the tubers still growing, which were weighed by 
Messrs W. C. Harris, and J. H. Selkreg, with I'esults as follows: 

The potatoes from this one hill weighed 16| j^ounds, upwards 
of a peck to the hill. Five of the jjotatoes measured the largest 
■way round as follows: 17, 17^, 18, 18, and 18| inches, and all 
averaged nine inches in girth. The memorandum from which we 
copy is in the handwriting of Senator Selkreg, and signed by him. 
That the potatoes from this one hill would have weighed twenty 
pounds, had they been left to their full growth, we have little 
doubt. 

We conclude this chapter by a statement, made as follows by 
E. r. Stelle, an intelligent farmer, -svho has been the superintend- 
ent during the last two seasons of our model five acres. 

" To all whom it may concern. 

"A year ago the 29th of June last, I called on Mr. Cole having in 
view work on his place as a temporary exj^edient, not having the 
least idea of continuing in his employment more than a week or 
two at the utmost. I considered myself a good farmer, and felt 
that I knew considerable about gardening. I had heard inciden- 
tally of a new system of agriculture and horticulture of which Mr. 
Cole was the discoverer. This he explained briefly, but at the 



THE NEW AGEICULtURE. 197 

same time in a way which seemed rather to discourage than en- 
courage me to look into it. I saw clearly that the author of " The 
New Agriculture" took every man who came to ask him questions, 
as coming more from curiosity to see what he would say, than to 
obtain information. The more Mr. Cole said, the deeper became 
my interest in his conversation, since I saw at a glance the man 
was talking of a subject on which he was well posted. 

" Looking me over, he concluded I was hardly stout enough to 
work in his trenches, but after some hesitation engaged me to 
work for a few days setting strawberry plants. He gave direc- 
tions that no plant should he set till every stone, big or little, 
lying in reach of the roots was removed, giving as a reason, that 
if the root struck a stone, it would be attacked by fungus, and 
that the plant would languish, if not die, and would bear little or 
no fruit. He pointed out jDlants having a sickly appearance, and 
directed me to pull them iip, dig down for the cause of unthrift, 
and removing it, set a new and healthy one in its place. 

" I soon found an abundance of work, since fully one-third of his 
plants, set by careless or inexperienced laborers, gave evidence of 
fungus at their roots. Security from fungus, seemed to me at 
first a large part of Mr. Cole's system. 

" ' Give your plants plenty of water, removing obstructions, so 
that the roots will not strike them,' he said, ' and there will be no 
fungus, unless it is planted in the soil by decaying wood or un- 
composted and fermenting manures, or by water-logged lands.' 

" I saw at a glance that Mr. Cole's system removed difficulties, 
giving his plants an opportunity of eating and drinking all they 
wanted, making their own selection. I had not been a month at 
work before becoming more deeply interested in Mr. Cole's me- 
thods of cultivating the soil, than in anything I had ever worked 
at. While I worked for wages, I worked also to get knowledge, 



198 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

and though approaching three score years and ten, I have become 
a deeply interested student of a system, bound, I am satisfied, to 
become general throughout the land. 

"Always taking a deep interest in orcharding, I have taken par- 
ticular notice of the effect of Mr. Cole's system on apple-trees. 
I have seen an old tree made to cast off its dead bark, and drop its 
mosses, the trunk and limbs to the end of every twig having a 
bright and vigorous growth. The old ajjple tree standing alone on 
the trenched portion of Mr. Cole's farm has been with me an ob- 
ject of continual interest. Mr. Cole has had this tree photograph- 
ed, the picture being taken several days ago. Even then, the low- 
er limbs had in some instances reached the ground, and were rest- 
ing upon it. Other limbs are following suit, and it looks now as 
though all of the lower limbs would rest upon the ground. I have 
urged Mr. Cole to have the tree propped up, but he insists upon it 
that none of the limbs having broken, none will. Mr. Cole tells 
me the tof) of the tree has nearly doubled in spread since trench- 
ing above it, and this I cannot doubt, as it has grown since I be- 
gan working for him as I never saw any tree grow before. I have 
rarely seen a tree so bright in the lustre of its bark throughout its 
entire top, and to the end of every twig. The old and shaggy 
bark on the body has been continually dropping off, moss . disap- 
pearing, and the tree throughout has the appearance of youth, and 
yet, according to Mr. Pooler, who knew it as a ten jesir old tree, 
thirty years ago, it should have reached its j^rime. That it has 
grown nearly as much in three years past, as in its entire life be- 
fore, I am satisfied. The fruit on this tree, Mr. Pooler says, grew 
no larger than a good sized thorn apj)le, when he owned the place, 
and was an insignificant and worthless russet. The apjjle as seen 
at present, shows so little of the russet coating, as to have the ap- 
pearance of a greening, when seen at a little distance ; hence the 




APPLE, NATURAL SIZE, AS GROWN IN 1855 ON OLD APPLE TREE. 








APPLE, NATURAL SIZE, AS GROWN IN 1885 ON OLD APPLE TREE. 



THE NEW AGRICULTUKE. 201 

statements getting into the papers that Mr. Cole had turned a rus- 
set apple into a greening, nor do I wonder at it since I must say 
the apples resemble greenings. To describe this tree is impossi- 
ble. I have never seen such a wonder, bearing such fine fruit, 
tender and juicy, and of matchless flavor. I think there is nearly 
tw^enty bushels of aj)ples on the tree, were they gathered to-day, 
and whether to place the estimate at thirty or forty at harvest time, 
I am at a loss, since the fruit swells out so from day to day as to 
bewdlder me. 

" Still more remarkable is the effect upon another tree which I 
will endeavor to describe. Mr. Cole took one of his men a few 
days after his great show on the 7th of July, and going into his or- 
chard, i^icked out two trees well loaded with fruit. One was young, 
eight years old. Mr. Cole tells me it was a Flemish beauty; the 
other was an old tree. I should think it one of the oldest trees of 
a very old orchard, there being no older orchard, as I am told, in 
town. The ground was cultivated as a garden about the young 
tree, while the old one stood in the sod of years. About both trees 
trenches were dug and finished under Mr. Cole's system. Overflows 
were provided, and the ground broken and well manured. The apples 
on the Flemish beauty were nearly half grown, and by the first of 
September presented an appearance in marked contrast with those 
on other early trees around it. The fruit grew rapidly, matured 
early, and if finer fruit was ever produced, I never saw it. It is 
the old tree, however, bearing a nameless apple, that presents at 
this time a wonderful transformation. The apples were about the 
size of thorn plums when the tree w^as trenched around. Mr. Cole 
tells me that wdiile the fruit growing on this tree is not the Lady 
apple, he, three years ago, gave them to his grand-children as such. 
He also tells me that an ounce was the average weight of the apple 
three 3^ears ago. There are now apj^les growing on the tree of 



202 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

three ounces weight, and the growth continues at a rapid rate. 
Where they will stop nobody knows. That apj)les will be gather- 
ed at harvest weighing five or sis ounces, I believe. Their luster 
is astonishing. In fact, I have never seen their equal. The fruit 
developing to-day, is incomparably finer than any on the place. 

" Suffice it to say, that results thus far realized by Mr. Cole in 
orcharding, justifies the following copied from the Husbandman at 
the conclusion of his address before the Farmer's Club at Elmira 
a month ago. 

" ' I conclude my remarks by saying that from the very first I 
have found the increase in size, beauty and perfection of fruits of 
all kinds simply incredible. I am this season making experiments 
on two apple trees, one set four years ago, two or three years old 
when set, and the other a tree at least forty years old, selected from 
others in our orchard, and judging from present appearance of 
these trees, the farmer who allows five years to pass over his head 
without trenching his orchard, should give uj) farming altogether.' ' 

" "WTiile on this subject I cannot omit saying that being a Jer- 
seyman by birth and bringing up, I have from boyhood taken a 
deep interest in everything connected with fruit raising and mar- 
ket gardening. I have seen more manure used annually on one 
acre in New Jersey than IVIi-. Cole has used on his whole five acres 
during the last two seasons, and in no instance have I known more 
than a quarter of a crop grown in New Jersey or in Western 
Pennsylvania (where I now reside and own a small farm under a 
good state of cultivation) when compared with crops grown by Mr. 
Cole. From the first day of my superintendence of the " Home on 
the Hillside " I have made a study of fungoid growths, the seeds of 
fungus, their attack xipon roots, and effects generally upon plants, 
and I am prepared to say that after reading works on agriculture 
and horticulture for fifty years, the agricultural and horticultur- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 203 

al journals of the country as they have come in my way, I confess 
to have learned more since taking charge of Mr. Cole's model five 
acres than during all the former years of my life. I am convinced 
that the seeds of fungus are engendered under many other condi- 
tions than those described in the following extract from Bulletin 
No. 2 of the New Series treating of pear blight at the State Exper- 
imental Station at Greneva. 

" ' The disease is due to living germs. These germs can multiply 
indefinitely in any damp spot where there is decomposing vegetable 
matter. From such places they are raised into the air when dry or 
carried up by moisture. From the air they lodge upon the trees, 
and when the conditions are favorable pass into the tissues and 
cause blight. The conditions referred to are in general (1) very ten- 
der tissues, such as are found within the flowers and at the ends of 
expanding shoots in spring, and (2) a moist atmosphere. No vari- 
eties are entirely blight proof, but the disease spreads so slowly in 
some that they receive little injury, especially when not making too 
rapid growth. The reason why the blight, when seen in July and 
later, does not pass directly from one limb to another, or from one 
tree to another, is because in the first place the germs cannot escape, 
being confined by the bark, or else escape in a viscid exudation 
which holds them firmly together, and in the second place there 
are very few places on the tree at this time of the year where the 
surface tissues are sufficiently tender for them to find an entrance.' " 

" Certainly the disease is due to living germs, nor is this all ; for 
in the air above, in the earth beneath, and in waters on and under 
the earth are the seeds of death arising from decomposition and 
from the stagnation of the waters, That these can everywhere be 
kept in motion, regulated in their flow and kept at nearly uniform 
temperature summer and winter, cannot be longer questioned, for 
Mr. Cole has demonstrated the fact. He runs the rain water 



204 THE KEW AfiEICULTUEE. 

through his 'retorts,' as he calls his trenches, and it is per- 
fectly filtered, He has this season experimented on water drawn 
from the main of the "SVellsville waterworks, and that too in the 
midst of a drought so severe as to dry up the springs feeding the 
reservoir, causing the water remaining in it to stagnate, rendering 
it unfit for use. He has purified this water completely. 

"What Mr. Cole does byway of purifying the water .falling 
from the clouds, I can perhaps best illustrate by the fact that a 
year ago last fall, (the autumn before my employment by him), he 
corded up for composting, thirty or forty wagon loads of manure 
in a winrow about twelve rods long near the summit of his hill- 
side. After I commenced work for him in the spring of last year, 
when it rained the water would issue from this winrow of the 
color of lye and running into the first trench below, this liquid 
manure water woiild become j^erfectly filtered, and flow out as 
pure as the jDurest spring Avater. This convinced me that a single 
trench sunk below a barnyard would save the manure otherwise 
lost by the wash of rains and melting snows ; and that trenching 
below stables, sties, hen-houses, and above, below, round and 
about dwellings and outhouses, and drojjping the waters deep 
down, by overflow from trench to trench and by movement through 
the surface soil, and percolation through the subsoil, the ground 
W'Ould absorb all impurities. I have become satisfied that the 
stagnant waters of swamps and j^onds, and those from drains and 
sewers can be dropped into trenches and filtered perfectly and 
made as pure as the purest spring water. This demonstrates the 
fact that by the use of Mr. Cole's system an end would come to 
pear blight, rot in jiotatoes, of tomatoes, and of rot and premature 
decay of all kinds. This very season he has been digging Early 
Rose potatoes of a size and beauty never equalled in the experi- 
ence of any one who has seen them; the vines continued growing 



THE NEW AGRICULTUKE. 205 

for weeks after all others were dead in fields round about, not 
treated as Mr. Cole is treating his lands. His potatoes average 
from three to five times the weight of those grown under old 
methods, and that he has this season grown from ten to twelve 
hundred bushels to an acre, is a fact, and I have not seen a rotten 
jiotato on his jDlace inside of his lines of trenching, while they are 
found thick enough, on that portion not trenched. 

" What is true of potatoes, is equally true of tomatoes. Where 
very little manure has been aj)plied directly to the soil, and the 
waters have been run beneath the plants, impregnated with the 
manure from the winrow above, not a rotten potato has this year 
been found on any portion of the place except where chip manure 
was used. 

" I need not say any more on this point. If there is a person in 
the world who doubts, they should come and see the squashes 
growing now on this j)lace. At this date, the last days of Septem- 
ber, the largest of these squashes, a Chili specimen, measures fifty 
by fifty-four inches around, and will weigh upwards of an hundred 
pounds, and seems growing at a rate of three or four jDOunds per 
day, and that it will reach and pass the size and weight of the fa- 
mous specimen of the same variety seen a year or two ago at the 
seed store of Mr. Peter Henderson in New York, is not unrea- 
sonable. This of course depends upon the frost holding back. 
That this squash would, under conditions of underground irriga- 
tion, reach a weight of three hundred pounds in New Jersey, on 
Long Island, Staten Island, or in Southern Pennsylvania, I have 
no doubt. What it would do farther south must be left for exper- 
iment. Should the Grovernment conclude to establish an Experi- 
mental Station at Washington, as has been suggested, it is not 
improbable that specimens of the Chili squash will be grown 
weighing from four to five hundred pounds. 



206 THE NEW AGllICULTUEE. 

" Most remarkable of all, however, are two specimens of the yel- 
low cheese pumj^kiu. These vary but little in size, having already 
grown to a girth of four feet and eight inches, and increasing at 
the rate of an inch a day. At no time has the growth seemed more 
rapid. The rapidity of growth increases flavor and tenderness of 
all vegetables and fruits. The blood beet has this year been grown 
to the length of three feet by Mr. Cole, and that a foot more will 
be added this season, seems j^robable. That they can be grown to 
a much greater length by prej)aring a soil deep enough, with water 
beneath, I am quite sure. 

" Mr. Cole, not having j^rotected his quince trees from the depi'e- 
dations of the borer, his quinces are not as large at this time of 
year, so he tells me, as those grown by him five years ago in his 
first test of his system. That he then grew sj^ecimens to the size 
of a i^int bowl, his family and neighbors bear witness. The speci- 
men he has just had photographed measures at this time nine 
inches in circumference, and as seen at Eider's photograph gallery 
in Wellsville, N. Y., exhibited in his glass case is mistaken for 
wax-work. That this quince would have grown to a girth of from 
one foot to one foot and three inches, had it been left to full de- 
velopment, I am quite sure. E. F. Stelle. 

Wellsville, N. Y. Sept. 25, 1885. 

"To all whom it may concern. 

" This will certify that I met IVIi'. Stelle the fore i^art of the pre- 
sent week, while looking over the jjlace I once owned and aban- 
doned because I could not make a living upon it on account of 
the poverty of the soil, and his statement having been submitted 
to me, I -declare it a fair and truthful one from beginning to end, 
corresponding with observations made by myself set forth in my 
own statement, made three days since." "William Pooler. 

WELLS^^LLE, Sept. 26, 1885. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MANUKINa UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM ^THE AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY- 

A WELCOME FOR ALL AT THE "HOME OK THE HILLSIDE." 



As the success of our system has beeu mainly attributed, by 
several doubters, to our methods of fertilizing, we desire to put on 
record that our practice is simply that of slight top dressing, with 
compost applied in the early spring; the land having been first 
prepared as described in Chapter VII by Mr. Maine. AVe have no 
hesitation in saying that not to exceed one-fourth of the quantity 
of manure is necessary under the methods of the new as compared 
with those of the old agriculture. 

At the conclusion of an address made by us on Aug. 29, 1885, 
before the Farmers Club of Elmira, the Hon. John H. Selkreg, 
who had recently visited our hillside in company with Professor 
Roberts of Cornell, was called upon for his views of " The New 
Agriculture." His response was reported in the Husbandman, of 
Elmira, N. Y., as follows: 

" I might, with a good deal of jirojoriety, enter most earnest pro- 
test against Mr. Cole's coaching you to call on me for testimony 
that is not needed. The jDOsition is by no means pleasant, because 
I have not expected to add anything to what has been said, nor am 
I in a very high degree capable of judging questions with which 
you, as farmers, are far more familiar. 

" I came to your city on business which occupied time, so that 



208 THE NEW AGKICULTUKE. 

the train wliicli I expected to take had gone before I was ready, 
and I at once resolved to come here, because I desired to hear 
about the New Agriculture, and to see friends, particularly Mr. 
Cole, with whom I might claim slight relation, dating back to its 
origin somewhere near Adam. I am not a farmer by a long way, 
yet I api^reciate the wisdom in the adage that glorifies a man who 
makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before. I be- 
lieve in improvement, and particularly in the most important in- 
dustry of the land — agriculture. There is great need of every im- 
l^rovement, for farmers have too long clung to old methods. 
There is neither use nor sense in farmers staying by the old me- 
thods employed by their fathers a hundred years ago, for condi- 
tions have changed, and there is, therefore, imperative necessity 
that better means be emj^loyed — improved methods, every advance- 
ment that Mill lead to larger returns, and increase of profits. 

" This, it is true, may be regarded as theory. It is theory. Yet 
it is good common sense. I know very little about practical farm- 
ing, for my experience is confined mainly to a garden of about 
foi-ty feet square, and I am bound to say that I do not care for that 
in the best way, as anybody who insj^ects the work would be sure 
to say. I had heard a great deal about the New Agriculture be- 
fore curiosity was greatly excited, but at last I began to wonder, 
— can these things be true as rej^orted ? Is it jDossible that Mr. 
Cole is forcing earth to production far greater than under previ- 
ous conditions ? I visited his grounds, saw his trenches, examined 
his work and its results; but all this was necessary before I could 
believe that what appeared like extravagant claims were based in 
truth. I found they were. I found that he had made most won- 
derful improvement in land that in the outset was poor. I saw 
him but a few days ago dig potatoes, nearly a peck from a single 
hill. I saw on the 7th of July on his grounds strawberries mar- 



THE XEW AGRICULTURE. 211 

velous in size and delicious in flavor. Last Tuesday I picked pea- 
pods of a dwarf variety, the pods five inches in length and each 
containing- eight large peas — the products of his improved land. 
Now, when I find these evidences of imjorovement I must say there 
is really something worth considering in the system by which the 
gain is made. That the crops are improved may be determined 
easily by comparison with similar products on other lands adjoin- 
ing that which Mr. Cole has treated. Nothing of the kind can b6 
found. No strawberries of large size, or even of ordinary size, 
were possible on the unimproved grounds near Mr. Cole last July ; 
no potatoes of large yield, no peas of large growth. Mr. Cole's 
lands alone have these remarkable products. Then they are con- 
vincing evidence of merit in his treatment, whatever that may be. 

" I do not know that all his claims will be sustained, — that he 
will realize all he exjDects. But I do know that he has effected 
wonderful improvement in his lands, and I believe that similar im- 
provement, perhaps less in degree, may be made in the soils of 
these uplands in all the hilly lands of Steuben, Allegany, Che- 
mung, Tioga, Tompkins, and many other counties where conditions 
are similar. It is something to be proud of, to take unproductive 
apple trees and by treatment of the soil make them bear fruit of 
fine character, and this is what Mr. Cole has done, the fruit being 
far superior to that on other trees but a little way off; yet the 
trees were formerly under the same conditions. So in tomato 
plants. Will I seem to be extravagant in statement when I say 
that a single vine on Mr. Cole's improved land has thirty or forty 
jDounds of tomatoes ?" 

Mr, Cole. From one to one and a half bushels. 

Senator Selkreg. No doubt; the yield is simply marvelous. 
It is difficult to comprehend the change effected in all the pro- 
ducts of that improved land. The lessons there spread out to 



212 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

view are worthy of your careful consideration. They may not be 
decisive of all matters suggested, nor even conclusive in any mat- 
ter, except that the system employed tends to wonderful improve- 
ment of products. There may be ways of cheapening the work. 
All these matters are for your consideration. 

W. A. Armstrong. It is alleged that Mr. Cole has used a great 
deal of manure on his grounds, and that the remarkable fruits of 
which he speaks may be credited properly to that source. Now it 
will be gratifying to gentlemen here to learn just how much ma- 
nure has been used, in order that credit may be given where it be- 
longs. 

Mr. Cole. In 1883 I used possibly sixty loads of manure on the 
whole five acres under treatment — not more than sixty loads of 
barnyard manure, composted with muck and all the forest leaves I 
could get, with some lime and some ashes, all used on the surface. 
That is the extent of the apjilication, and no manure has been 
applied since. I say sixty loads, because I wish to exceed the 
amount ; I am sure that not more than that quantity was ap- 
plied, but I have not the exact figures, and am, therefore, obliged 
to fix an outside limit which is entirely safe. I believe this land, 
after three years more, will want no more manure, for enough will 
be obtained through the solids left by Avaters, which in draining 
away, part with all substances, animalculse and everything else 
that in its decay will furnish plant food. You will observe that 
everything the water contains must stop in the soil and be held for 
use, and there is enough in insect life, if it can be ai^propriated, to 
nourish plants quite as effectually as moderate application of 
manure. This very morning I gave one of my men fifty cents to 
buy Paris green to kill potato beetles on the vines, without a doubt 
that the beetles, when incorporated in the soil, will be worth more 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 213 

than the money and the labor of destroying them in the fertilizing 
influence they will have on the soil. 

Three years ago, I prej)ared a bed for asparagus and put in chip 
manure, a liberal supply, some of it jDine chips, that remain there 
still without going to decay as rapidly as I desired. ^\Tiere that 
chip manure is used, there is fungoid growth. A few tomato 
vines planted along the border yield fruit that has rotted, the 
trouble caused by chij) manure. There is no other place on my 
grounds where rot affects tomatoes, and in this spot the trouble is 
clearly traceable to chij) manure. 

W. A. Armstrong. The answer to my question is not entirely 
satisfactory, because with the sixty loads of manure there is all the 
leaf mould that Mr. Cole could gather. Now, if we had a safe 
estimate of that, the w^hole matter would be clear. 

Mr. Cole. I can only say that I have gathered all the leaves 
from forest and other places that I could conveniently get, but the 
whole has not been much. I cannot state the exact amount. 

G. W. Hoffman. The sixty loads of manure mean the compost 
in which the leaves were incorporated ? 

Mr. Cole. Yes ; and that is the limit. Sixty loads covers 
everything. 

G. W. Hoffman. We have here a tobacco farmer, who knows 
very well the amount required on good lands to secure a full 
growth of tobacco — Mr. Chamberlain, whose experience is ex- 
tended. 

George Chamberlain. I use twenty loads of manure to the acre 
the first year ; after that about ten loads each year, provided I can 
get so much. 

G. W. Hoffman. And a load is a cord and a half or more ? 

George Chamberlain. Two cords. 

G. W. Hoffman. Then there are forty cords used on an acre, and 



214 THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 

in the next year, if tobacco is continued, twenty cords — the 
amount in either case much greater than Mr. Cole has used in the 
three years. I visited his j^lace July 7th, and saw most wonderful 
growth of plants and fruits, particularly strawberries, while along- 
side the lands he has treated every kind of jDlant growth was 
stunted. He has certainly proved great possibilities in j^roduction 
on lands that at the beginning were very jDoor. 

Mk. Cole. I wish to call again on Senator Selkreg, who has ex- 
amined my grounds lately. I want to ask him if he saw any 
appearance of rot in tomatoes anywhere except on the few plants 
bordering the asparagus bed where chip manure is used. 

Senator Selkkeg. Not the slightest. That is a matter that I 
observed particularly before any remarks were made about it. I 
saw fruit rotted in that place, and searched carefully to see how 
far the trouble j^revailed. But there was no rot whatever any- 
where except in that one place, where I was informed chij) manure 
had been used, and rot was traceable to that cause." 

We are convinced that well rotted barnyard manure, muck, 
w^here obtainable, or ordinary loam, or soil of bottom lands ; soils 
of the prairies of the West, of the swamps and morasses of the East 
and the South, when mixed with forest leaves and composted with 
lime, salt and ashes in equal proportions, will prove, as top dress- 
ing, worth vastly more than the best of phosphates; and that what 
has been denominated green manuring, the plowing in of clover, 
buckwheat, rye-grass, etc. is of far greater value than the expens- 
ive fertilizers of which ordinary use is made. 

We think it of value to our readers to give in this, the concluding 
chapter of our book, the following account of the jDroceedings at a 
late meeting of The American Pomological Society. The subjects 
discussed are of vital value to horticulturists and the information 
given iij^on them cannot be found elsewhere. The report was made 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 215 

for the Press of Philadelphia, by that able journalist, Mr. Chas. A 
Green, Editor of The Fruit Grower, published in Rochester, N. Y., 
and we deem the subject matter of it as correlative w^ith ovir new 
agriculture. 

" The success of the twentieth annual meeting of the American 
Pomological Society recently held at Grand Eajjids, IVIich. was 
largely ow^ng to the efforts of President Marshall P. Wilder, one 
of the best men ever engaged in the work; to acting President Pat- 
rick Barry, Prof. W. J. Beal, Charles W. Garfield, E. H. Scott and 
other prominent Michigan men. 

" President Wilder in his address glanced at the thirty-seven 
years in w^hich the society had worked. Long may it live on prosper 
ing, and to prosper while the earth bears fruit and man lives to cul- 
tivate it. This society is performing an immense amount of la- 
bor in correcting errors. There is a wonderful contrast between 
the early condition of jJomology and that of the present day. The 
future work will be continuous, and of vital importance. Press on 
the good work, and when you are gone others will rise to take 
your places. 

" Mr. Angel reported that Michigan produces five million bush- 
els of large fruits annually, and that the prospects for the future 
are more i^romising. In the discussion of new fruits, the yellow 
transjparent apple was spoken of by Mr. Gideon as about as hardy as 
the Oldenburg, which had suffered the past year, when the thermom- 
eter fell to forty-nine degrees below zero. The apple is of good qual- 
ity and twelve days earlier than the Red Astrachan. It bears young 
and is of uniform size. It has a tendency to crack w^hen over-i-ipe. 
It originated near St. Petersburg, Russia. The Shannon apjjle, 
Avhich took the first premium at the World's Exposition at New Or- 
leans, is a seedling from Arkansas. It is profitable in the North 
and West, is a large, show^y fruit, but not of first quality. Mr. Gid- 



216 THE XEV.' AGEICULTUKE. 

eon considers tlie Oldenburg as hardy as any except the crabs. He 
had found nothing but the crabs that would endure the past win- 
ter, which was the most severe of any that they had experienced. 

" Professor Bessey of Nebraska gave an illustrated lecture on In- 
jurious Fungi. While most people look out upon the fields of 
grass, vegetables and fruits, considering that these cover the ex- 
tent of plant life. Professor Bessey tells us that there is another 
race of j^lants often too small to be discovered by the naked eye, 
one differing from another, and each having as remarkable j^ecu- 
liarities, as the plants that are visible in our fields. This great race 
of plants, called Fungi, should be better understood by jDractical 
men and women, as it has much to do with the health of plants, 
trees and human beings. Forest trees four hundred feet in height 
differ from the j^articles of moss that thrive ujDon their trunks no 
more than one species of fungi differs from another in size. We 
often hear the remark made that certain disorders are caused by 
fungus growth. This would be something like stating that apples 
belong to the vegetable kingdom. It would scarcely mean any- 
thing, for there are as many kinds of fungus growth as of other 
plants, and each one has its peculiarities. The puff ball is referred 
to as one of the largest fungi. Fungi is divided into three classes 
— parasite, saprophytes and parasite-saprophytes. The jDarasites 
feed only upon living tissues, and the sajjrophytes feed only on 
dead matter, while the parasite-saprophytes are more greedy, and 
feed upon both living and dead matter, attacking more largely lan- 
guishing tissues. 

"William Saunders remarked that scientific men were for a long 
time puzzled to know whether bacteria belonged to the animal or 
vegetable kingdom. Professor Bessey treated them as plants. If 
an apple was magnified as we magnify bacteria under oiu' best 
glasses, it vrould appear to be two and one-half miles in diameter. 



THE NEW AGRICULTUEE. 217 

The body of a man cut up into pieces, each of which was as small 
as a bacteria, and each piece jjlaced before the other, would create a 
line of atoms of flesh one hundred and ninety million miles long, or 
long enough to pass around the earth six and one-half thousand 
times. This illustration will enable the reader to get an idea of 
the minuteness of these small plants, which may be floating in the 
air we breathe by the millions and yet not be observed. Bacteria 
reproduce themselves with wonderful rapidity. They withdraw a 
portion of the constituents of the vital part they attack, and there- 
by cause an enfeebled condition and ultimate destruction. There 
are many kinds of bacteria, each of which ajopears to have an im- 
jjortant work in the economy of nature. It is wonderful to think 
that the Almighty brings about remai'kable results from such in- 
finitisimal creations. When the bodies of animals, plants and fruits 
have ceased to be of further use, it is desirable that they should be 
transformed into a condition where they may be absorbed and used 
in the construction of other forms. Bacteria seem to have been 
created largely for this work. Thus they assist to transform fallen 
logs into vegetable mould, and defunct animals and fruit into food 
supj)lies for other organisms. No doors or windows are' close 
enough to keep out bacteria. Wherever the air can enter they 
can enter also. — 

" Professor Arthur, of the New Jersey Experimental Station, spoke 
of his exj^eriments with pear blight. While Professor Burrill has 
previously claimed that pear blight was caused by bacteria, some 
of our most practical men throughout the country, like President 
Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., and others, have had serious doubts 
whether blight might not be the result rather than the cause. 
Professor Arthur's experiments have cleared up all doubts on this 
question. We know now the true cause of pear blight, and are in 
a much better condition to fisfht it than ever before. It is difficult 



218 THE NE\^" AGRICULTURE. 

to carry on warfare with an enemy that you know nothing of, 
and of whose identity you are uncertain, but once have him cor- 
nered as we now have the enemy of the pear, we shall no longer 
fear him. Our sjmce will not permit giving a full descrijotion of 
Professor Ai-thiu-'s thorough investigation. Suffice it to say that it 
was thoroughly convincing. He has found that bacteria can be con- 
veyed to the pear only when the yoiing Avood is exceedingly soft, 
and never through old wood, or that which has become hardened, 
except it be through the young and immature twigs. Thus the 
bacteria may be conveyed to the older wood only through the bac- 
teria that enters the tender wood. The bacteria enters the trees 
in July, and hardly ever in August or later. The bark of the 
branch attacked may be destroyed several weeks before the leaves 
turn black, as the leaves are sustained by the wood of the branch. 
Usually the leaves turn black suddenly during a hot day. This is 
the first notice the orchardist has of disease, but really the damage 
has been done weeks before. Bacteria do not enter the branches 
by contact of diseased branches with healthy ones, neither are 
they conveyed by the pruning knife. The bacteria gain entrance 
to the trees through the young and tender wood, through the blos- 
soms, or through the fruits in rains, or conveyed by the winds. 
Also jiossibly by evajooration of moisture from the soil in which 
they have been multiplied. Bacteria progress through the limbs 
more rapidly in the warmest weather. They are not killed 
by the cold, but are imable to make such fast jDrogress during 
winter. Those in the affected branches work slowly all Avinter, but 
perish about the time the trees leave out in the spring. Germs for 
inoculating bacteria were secured by cutting pieces of blighted 
wood and placing them in water, or fluid produced l)y I'oiling corn 
meal in water, or hay tea. Soon the liquid was filled with the 
germs. A few of these inserted In the tender wood caused dis- 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 219 

ease in a short time. The germs in a diseased tree escape to the 
surface in a sticky substance ; they are washed free of the gum by 
the rain, dropping to the ground, multiply in decaying substances 
beneath the ti'ees, or in wet places near by. Here they pass the win- 
ter, and may live for several years. They are borne in the air when 
dry by the wind, being so extremely minute that they may be thus 
borne and carried great distances, coming in contact with the ten- 
der twigs, or the centre of flowers, and finally into the tree, produc- 
ing disease. Professor Arthur found that although he experi- 
mented with many kinds of bacteria germs, only those found in 
blighted pear trees caused blight. 

"Professor Lazenby reports experiments showing that soil 
mulched with straw is invariably lower in temjDerature than ground 
unmulched, teaching that it was not desirable to mulch strawber- 
ries where late spring frosts were prevalent, as strawberries mulch- 
ed would be injured more by the frost than those unmulched. The 
only method by which mulching would be valuable in preventing 
damage by late spring frosts is by keeping the mulch above the 
plants and not permit the blossoms to be exposed until the danger 
of frost is past. 

" Mr. Pierce of Ohio said that there were thousands who did not 
know the delights of growing the finest flowers and fruits. Enlist 
your wife and children in your work, says Charles W. Garfield. 

" Mr. Lyon considered that brevity is always desirable for names 
of new fruits. The name of the originator or introducer would 
rarely be found inappropriate, or the name of the place where the 
variety originated, and either will generally possess the advantage 
of requiring but a single word. While the wish to add a charac- 
teristic word, designed to convey an impression of superiority, 
causes the name to be cumbersome, it does not aid in distinguish- 
ing the variety. 



220 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 

" Professor Lazeuby gave the result of exiDeriments with the ef- 
fects of pollen on the strawberry. He showed that in some sea- 
sons pistillate strawberries are influenced by the j^oUen of the varieties 
applied. A. J. Fuller concurred in this opinion, and the question 
was nearly decided to the satisfaction of all present, that it was 
possible to affect the flavor, size and form of the strawberry by the 
application of pollen to the jjistillate varieties. Yet it was not 
claimed that the effect would be noticeable to the casual observer 
in all cases, or might not be of sufficient imi^ortance to be adopted 
by the market grower. Mr. Lazenby found that the Crescent 
strawberry, growing alone under a glass, would produce no berries 
when not fertilized. 

" Professor A. J. Cook, of Michigan, delivered an illustrated lec- 
ture on Economic Etomology. It is known that the damage 
done by insects last year was two millions of dollars, and the un- 
known damage was probably as much more. The number of 
species of destructive insects is increasing every year, and the war- 
ing against them has become more imi^ortant. Many of these in- 
sects are formidable for the reason that they have no bird foes in 
this country. An insect changes its taste and habits, often leaving 
one plant and attacking another. A few years ago California was 
free from injurious insects, but now it is thoroughly infested. In- 
sects have foes that often supj)ress their depredations. A know- 
ledge of these foes is absolutely necessary to the farmer and fruit 
grower, also a knowledge of the habits and life of insects. Im- 
ported insects are far more injurious than our native ones. They 
seem to take a new lease of life in this country, and are more fero- 
cious and persistent in their efforts. 

" One half pound of London purple to a barrel of water, or a 
spoonful of Paris green to a barrel of water, is recommended for 
spraying trees at the time when the blossoms are about to fall, to 



THE NEW AGKICULTUEE. 221 

destroy the canker worm, codling moth and numerous other in- 
sects that are liable to do injury. This application could be made 
at an expense of from three to five cents per tree, and should be 
applied whether there is caiiker worm in the orchard or not. The 
canker worm is becoming far more j)revalent each year throughout 
the country. As the codling moth should be treated to the poison 
even in the absence of the canker worm, it will be seen that there 
is no excuse for permitting the canker worm to defoliate the trees." 

As we referred in a former chapter to the statement of Professor 
Roberts to us that clover roots had been traced to a depth of 
eighteen feet, the following communication sent by him to Mr. 
Chas. A. Green, Editor of that admirable monthly, The Fruit 
Grower, will be of interest ; 

Agkicultukal Depaktment, Cornell Univeksity. 

Ithaca, N. Y., July 30, 1885. 
3Ir. Charles A. Green : 

Dear Sir : — The Tribune of July 14, containing an article on 
" The New Agriculture " is received. In it you say that Mr. Cole 
says that " Professor Roberts of Ithaca has told him that he has 
traced red clover roots to a depth of eighteen feet that were 
growing in a bed of gravel overlaying water." Mr. Cole must 
have misunderstood me, as it was corn roots not clover roots that I 
was speaking of to him when I visited his place the week before 
you were there. I have a clover root j^reserved in our museum 
two feet nine inches long, which was taken from the borders of a 
nearby cellar. The roots of this j)lant, which was one year old, 
were nearly traced to the depth of the cellar — four feet— but they 
were so delicate that it was impossible to j^reserve their entire 
length. 

At the Iowa Agricultural College the railroad company under- 
mined a portion of the corn field in August, 1873, to get gravel 



222 THE NEW AGEICULTURE. 

•with which to ballast their road. Here I took great delight in 
studying corn roots. They were large enough to preserve at a 
depth of eight, but where the ground began to be moist from the 
water beneath, by careful digging they could be traced from two 
to four feet farther, where they reached i^erennial water. 

As to the " New Agriculture " with pick and shovel, I most care- 
fully examined the land treated by Mr. Cole, and also that adjoin- 
ing which was not treated, and I expect in the near future to give some 
facts and my conclusions to the public. 

Very resj^ectfully yours, 

I. P. Roberts. 

We are growing old and anxious lest we die and see not in the 
flesh the fruits of our life-work — a half century sj^ent in pursuit of 
the waters. 

We want to see the tile manufacturers so conforming their wares 
as to conserve instead of wasting the waters. 

We want to see the inventor at work giving the farmer a trench- 
ing machine which will do more subsoiling in a day than an hun- 
dred of the best plowmen can do now in a month with the most 
efficient implements, and doing it in a way which, once done, will 
not need to be done again. 

We want to see an end of unfermented and uncomposted manures, 
and an end also of most of the phosj^hates with which the earth 
has been hitherto cursed. 

We want to see farmers do their own fertilizing, avoiding seeds 
of fungus and fouling of lands by sowing inoculations of noxous 
jilants and weeds. 

In this latter connection it has occurred to us that the transpor- 
tation from West to East of alkaline deposits, might be found pro- 
fitable to both sections. The transit is made easy by means of om* 
railroad system, so gridironing the country as to make interchange 



THE NEW AGRICULTURE, 223 

and admixture of soils less expensive tlian the use of phosphates 
The wonderful salt discoveries of the Wyoming Valley, making the 
use of brine and refuse salt for maniu-e so inexjjensive as to place 
them within reach of every farmer and gardener, is second only in 
importance to the discovery and development of petroleum and 
natural gas. These latter are already transported long distances 
through pij)es, and we see no reason why alkaline and saline li- 
quids may not be equally diffused by gravitation and made to 
reach all portions of our country. 

In conclusion j)ermit us to repeat our belief that an universal 
system of trenching will be adopted at an early day. We have 
proven that it is practical and profitable. We believe also that be- 
yond in value of all present methods of fertilization, is that feature 
of " The New Agriculture " which extracts the solids from the wa- 
ters furnishing food and inspiration to plant growth and fruition. 

After reading these pages, indulgent reader, you fail to be con- 
vinced of the incalculable value of our system, or do not fully com- 
prehend its details, we cordially invite you to come and see for 
yourself. The latchstring of our " Home on the Hillside " is hung 
on the outside of the door. A. N. COLE. 

Wellsville, Allegany Co., N. Y. 



The New Agriculture, 



BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENT. 

A General Agent having- been appointed for tlie United 
States of America, in the person of Theodore L. Minier, of 
Elmira, N. Y., all parties desiring information touching 
matters relating to business in connection with The New 
Agriculture, will address their communications to the Gen- 
eral Agent. 

State, Territorial, County and District Agencies will from 
time to time be created, and liberal commissions allowed to 
agents. Applications for agencies will be made to the Gen- 
eral Agent, at Elmira, N. Y. 



A Journal of Aquacultiire. 



ON WEDNESDAY. JANUARY, 6th, 1886, 

A weelily journal will be issued iiiider the title of 

THE GENESEE VALLEY FREE PRESS AND NEW AGRICULTURE, 

from tlie office of the " Daily Free Press^," at Wellsville, Allpgany Co., N. Y. 

Tha Editorial Department of the pajier will he patriotic rather thau iiartisau. In 
upliolding the Union and the Constitution it will know no North, no South, no East, 
no West. 

Fully one-half of the paper will be devoted to Agriculture and Horticulture gen- 
erally, and " The New Agriculture " in particular. I propose to edit the paper, and 
hold myself obligated to answer all questions that my corresi)ondeuts may ask. 

The pajier will be a handsome quarto, and i.ssued to siibscrilers at f 2.00 per an- 
num in advance. 

A. N. COLE, 
Wellsville, Allegany County, N. Y. 



The American Angler. 




THE FISHERMAH'S PAPER— THE ONLY ONE IH AMERICA. 



THE AMEEICAN ANGLER is published every Saturday, aud each uumber con- 
tains essays on Eish, Fishing and i'icih Culture, Notes aud (Jueriea relative to fishing 
and fish life, and ijractical illustrations of the methods aud tackle used in angling. 
Dravi'ings of seventy-five representative fish of America have already appeared in The 
Angler, which is the only imper published in America devoted solely to Fish, 
Fishing and Fish Culture. Mr. Scth Greeu, the veteran Fish Culturist of America, 
has editorial charge of the Fish Ciiltm-e Department of the paper. 



Subscription per annum $3 on 

Single copies 10 

Back numbers of the paper can be had on application at 10 cents each, except 
thos-e issued between the dates of October 15, 1881, and June 30, 1882, for which a 
charge of 25 cents each will be made. Specimen copies will be sent on application. 



Address 



THE AMERICAN ANGLER, 
Ofiaices: 252 Broadway, New York. 



THE FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST, 



THAT ARE 



CAUGHT WITH HOOK AND LINE, 



INCLUr^ING THE 



FISHES of the EAST COAST of FLORIDA. 



By Louis 0. Van Doren and Samuel C. Clarke. 



This is a practical text book on the salt water fishes that are found on the Atlan- 
tic coast from Northern Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. No other work now in pribt 
covers this iield, and none has been published on this subject for the last quarter 
of a century. Messrs. Van Doren and Clarke give the scientific and popular de- 
scriptions, habits, habitat, when, wheke and how to catch them, of forty-two 
fishes that are caught with hook and line along the eastern coast of America. The 
Illustrations are numerous and are photo-likenesses of the fish represented . They 
consist of the following : 



The Striped Bass. 

The Bluefish. 

The Weakfish. 

The Sheepshead. 

The Kingfish. 

The Bonito. 

The Black Drum. 

The Spanish Mackerel. 

The Menhaden. 

The Lafayette, oh,Spot. 

The Shad. 

The Tarpum. 

The Channel Bass. 



The Blackfish. 

The Flounder. 

The Sea Bass. 

The Bergall. 

The Tomcod. 

The Codfish. 

The Haddock. 

The Salt Water Trout. 

The Red Geouper. 

The Pomp and. 

The Mangrove Snapper. 

The Lady Fish. 

The Salt Water Cat Fish . 



The Hoofish, The White, ob Silver Mullet. 

Cloth, I6mo. Price, Post-paid, i?1.50 
Address 

THE AMERICAN ANGLES, 

252 Broadway, New York. 



PORTRAITSof FISHES. 




At the request of many of our readers, we have struck off on fine gray tinted 
Bristol board, 7x11 inches each, a few copies of the following named fishes. They 
are sixty in number; twenty-three are engravings of those killed in fresh water, 
and thirty-seven in salt water. These fi.sh portraits have been jjrinted with much 
care, and will be of interest and service to those who wish to preserve them either 
framed or in a iiortfolio. We will mail them, postage paid, at the following 
prices. 

The Fresh Water Series, (23 in number), for $'2.(Ki. 
The Salt Water Series, (37 in number), for S3..50. 
The entire series, i60 in number), for $5.00. 
Single copies, ten cents. 

THE FRESH WATER SERIES. 
The Small-Mouthed Black Bass. 
The Large-Mouthed Black Bass. 
The Brook Trout. 



The Grayling. 

The California Mountain Trout. 

The California Salmon. 

The Pike Perch. 

The Land-Locked Salmon. 

The Sea Salmon. 

The Pike. 

The Lake Lawyer. 

The Salmon Trout. 



The Maacalonge. 

The Yellow Perch. 

The Whitefish. 

The Fresh Water Striped Bass. 

The White Perch. 

The Bisby Trout. 

The Shad. 

The Lake Herring. 

The Bream. 

The Strawberry Bass 

The Rock Bass. 



THE SALT WATER SERIES. 

The Menhaden 



The Striped Bass. 

The Blue Fish. 

The Sheepshead. 

The Channel Bass. 

The Pompauo. 

The Bed Grouper. 

The Lady Fish. 

The Spanish Slackerel. 

The Salt Water Trout, Florida. 

The Weakfish. 

The Bouito. 

The Kiugfish. 

The Sea Bass. 

The Red Snapper. 

The Blackfish. 

The Porgy. 

The Pilot Fish. 

The Lafayette, or Spot. 

The Hogfish. 

A handsome Portfolio, in half Russia, with bevelled edges, and stamped in gilt 
"Fish Portraits," made especially to hold a set of fishes, will be mailed, postage 
paid, on receipt of $1.25. 

Address, AMESICAIT ANGLER, 

2.')2 Broadway, New York. 



The Codfish. 

The Tarpum. 

The Mangrove Snapper. 

The Haddock. 

The Butterfish. 

The Smelt. 

The Black Drum 

The Squid. 

The Codling. 

The Unicorn Fish. 

The Moon Fish. 

The Spotted Turbot. 

The Northern Sculpin. 

The Bergall. 

The Flounder. 

The Salt Water Catfish, Gaff-topsail. 

The White Mullet. 



THE ANGLER'S SCORE BOOK 



Fishing Register. 



On the opp'^site page is given a full page illustration (exact size) of thia handy 
score bouk. It ecu lains a sufficient number of pages for aseason'g record, and will 
be tuund inuisjiensable to the angler who feels sufficient interest in his paftime to 
derive pleasure and profit from his ptst achievementn. 

It is bound in heavy paper, price 10 cents, and in limp cloth and gold, 25 cents. 

Pocket size. 

AMSB.ICA27 ANGZiEB, 

252 Broadway, Wew York. 



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TEXT PAPERS FOR ANGLERS. 



The six volumes, handsomely bound in cloth (after July 1, 1885, 
seven vol.), of The Amekican Anglee, are now ready for delivery. 
Price $3.00 each. The demand for the unbound numbers of Volume 
I. has so largely decreased our supply of them, that we are compelled 
to increase the price of copies to 25 cents each. New subscribers, how- 
ever, who commence their subscriptions with the first issue of the 
paper, October 1, 1881, will be supplied at the regular rate of $3.00 a 
year. 

To assist our readers, who art daily ordering back nximbers, in the 
selection of those containing special treatises of practical value to 
anglers, we give below a few of the dates and a partial list of subjects 
contained in Volumes II, III and IV. They will be sent, postage 
paid, on receipt of ten cents for each copy. 

What is a Pike ? What is a Pickerel? Illustrated. December IG, 
1882. 

A Sole Leather Bait Box. Illustrated, December 23, '82. 

Striking and Playing a Fish. Decemlser 30, '82. 

The White Perch. Illustrated. December 30, '82. 

A Treatise on the Mascalonge— Where, When and How to Catch 
Them. Illustrated. (Jon.ained in the issues of January 6, 13, 20, 27, 
'83. 

A Treatise on the Black Bass — Habitat, Modes of Capture, etc. Illus- 
trated. In issues of Februarj 3, 10, 17, 24, '83. 

The Strawberry Bass. Illustrated. February 17, '83. 

A Treatise on the Pike —Habitat, tackle u&ed, etc. Illustrated. In 
issues oE Marcli 3, 10, 17, 24, '83. 

The iieel-Its place oa the Hod. March 21, April 14, June 16, '83. 

The Atlantic Salmon. Scientific and Popular Description^Habit.it 
and capture. Illustrated. March 31, '83. 

MuiLLOWs as Bait. Illustrated April 7, 14, 21, '83. 

Catching Flouaders. Illustrated. April 7, '83. 

The Trout of Maine Waters. April 14, 21, 28, May 5, '83. 

The Trout Streams of the United States and liow to Reach Them. 
April 14, '83. 

A Serviceable Fishing Boat — How 'to Build it. Illustrated. April 
21, '83. 

Making a Split Bamboo — Amatenr Work. April 28, '83. 

Varnish for Rods. May 5, 83. 

A Treatise on the Brook Trout— Habits, Habitat and Capture. Il- 
lustrated May 12, 19, 26, June 2, '83. 

The Colorado Mountain Trout. May 12, '83. 

A New Mit.now Pail! Illustrated. May 12, 1883. 

The Striped Bass— Rock Fish —Descrip: ion, Modes of Capture, etc. 
Illustrated. May 26, June 2, '83. 

Any of the above papers sentpostpaid on receipt of ten cents. 
Address 3*^ The American Anglbb, 

^ly. 252 Broadway, New York. 

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